The Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris urged leadership of Nigerian Universities to imbibe the ideals of transparency, accountability and openness in the management of financial resources of the Universities.
Idris made the call when the Association of Bursars of Nigerian Universities visited him in Abuja. He said that judicious management of finances has become imperative, especially at such a time like this when revenue inflows is becoming a challenge.
The Accountant General of the Federation urged the Nigerian Universities to evolve ways of raising revenues, with regards to internally generated revenue instead of depending on the Federal Government at all times when the issue of funding arises.
“The Government built the infrastructure, Government pays the overhead, Government pays the personnel cost. There is need for reexamination and reappraisal of other sources of income for the universities and their judicious application for the good of the system’, he advised.
He called on the Universities to support government financial reforms initiatives in order to bring about transparency, accountability and openness in the management of public finances.
He explained that based on his interaction with some members of the university community, there is an obvious gap of misunderstanding regarding some of these reforms and this knowledge gap has resulted in the animosity towards these reforms initiatives.
He tasked the Bursars, as managers of financial resources in Nigerian Universities, to undertake to enlighten and educate other employees of universities on the reform initiatives.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman of Association of Bursars of Nigerian Universities, Dr. Victor Imagbe said the essence of the visit was to appreciate the Accountant General of the Federation on the financial management reforms and the impact of the reforms on the system.