Highlighting the progress made, Aisha Omar, the Director of Special Projects at the Federal Ministry of Finance, announced that a total of N57 billion has been successfully recovered from the N5.2 trillion debt owed by various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Speaking at the Sensitisation Workshop on the Federal Government Debt Recovery Drive through Project Lighthouse Programme for the South-East zone in Enugu, Omar revealed that the accumulated debts were identified from data sourced from over 5,000 debtors spread across more than 93 MDAs.
Representing Omar at the event, Bridget Molokwu, the Deputy Director of Special Projects at the Ministry of Finance in Abuja, pointed out that the debts primarily consisted of obligations owed to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
In addition to recovering debts from defaulting companies, the government was also able to obtain refunds from entities that failed to fulfill project commitments after being paid.
Various forms of outstanding debts, including unpaid credit facilities from the Bank of Industry (BOI) and the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), judgment debts in favor of the Government, and liabilities owed to the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) by insurance firms, were also highlighted.
Furthermore, it was emphasized that non-compliant debtors who continued to receive payments from government agencies were identified through Project Lighthouse data, indicating a lack of visibility in these transactions.
Efforts to enhance debt recovery were bolstered by the initiation of “Project Lighthouse” by the Federal Ministry of Finance, facilitating the integration of crucial economic and financial data from multiple agencies that previously operated in silos.
Addressing the widespread issue of revenue leakage attributed to inadequate information sharing and enforcement, it was noted that the Debt Analytics and Reporting Application had successfully aggregated a substantial debt sum of approximately N5.2 trillion.
Despite the ongoing nature of consolidating debts, a notable achievement highlighted was the recovery of N57 billion to date, a result of collaborative endeavors from stakeholders and the Federal Government.