The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria has said that the country must have the right economic environment to attract foreign direct investments.
The President of ICAN, Dr Innocent Okwuosa, said this during a presidential media chat in Lagos recently.
Okwuosa said the call was premised on President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to revamp Nigeria’s ailing economy.
He said, “We need to have the right socio-political economic environment before we can attract foreign direct investment. FDI is tied to capital flows across border. What we know is that capital will flow to the environment where it earns the highest interest and it is safe.
“If the environment is not safe for investment, no matter the effort we make for investment, the desired capital won’t flow. So, if we look at the issue we have in the country, infrastructural decay, policy inconsistency. We need to look at issue that sustains investment: human capital to operate some of the investment that is attracted into the country.”
Meanwhile, the ICAN boss has lauded Tinubu for appointing professional accountants into strategic positions in his cabinet and urged him to do more as professional accountants have the requisite training and skill to promote accountability and transparency; a yearning of Nigerians.
Okwuosa stated, “We asked President Tinubu to populate his cabinet with professional accountants because of the quest by the citizens since the inception of democracy for accountability and transparency.
Professional accountants can help government to instill accountability and transparency in governance. That is what will ensure the dividend of democracy flows to the populace.
“If we neglect accountants, democracy suffers. The right to demand accountability and transparency is the right of citizens in a democratic setting. The accountants provide information that helps the government promote accountability.”
The ICAN president added, “We will acknowledge that the president has done well in putting professional accountants in strategic positions in his cabinet. An accountant heads the ongoing fiscal reform, an accountant heads the Federal Inland Revenue Service, an accountant heads the Financial Reporting Council, a chartered accountant also heads the Ministry of Mines development and the Accountant-General of the federation is an accountant.
“The more accountants we have, the more informed instruction we have about governance in the country, the more we can provide information to enable citizens to hold government and those who have been entrusted with power to account. So, there is no end to populating accountants in the cabinet of any government.”
