The Federal Government has announced a significant milestone in its debt recovery efforts, revealing the recovery of N57 billion from the N5.2 trillion liabilities owed to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other government bodies by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

Speaking at a Sensitisation Workshop on Federal Government Debt Recovery Drive through Project Lighthouse Programme for the South-East geo-political zone in Enugu State, the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties, Federal Ministry of Finance, Okokon Ekanem Udo, disclosed the development on Tuesday.

According to a statement by the ministry’s spokesperson, Mohammed Manga, Mr. Udo highlighted that the debts came to light from data aggregated from over 5,000+ debtors across more than 93 MDAs.

Represented by the Ministry’s Director, Special Projects, Aisha Omar, the Permanent Secretary informed that it also received refunds to the government from companies who failed to deliver on projects for which payment had been made, adding that others are unpaid credit facilities granted to both corporate entities and individuals by the Bank of Industry (BOI), Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Judgment Debt in favor of Government and debts owed Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) by Insurance Companies amongst others.

Mr. Udo emphasized the importance of this initiative in enhancing visibility over transactions conducted through government platforms such as GIFMIS and Treasury Single Account (TSA).

He highlighted the consolidation efforts of the Debt Analytics and Reporting Application, which revealed monumental debts amounting to approximately N5.2 trillion.

Despite the ongoing debt aggregation process, the government has already recovered N57 billion through concerted efforts by stakeholders and the Federal Government.

Mr. Udo reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to addressing revenue loopholes by issuing a Ministerial directive to all MDAs to aggregate government debt across the Public Finance Space and establish a single window for the government’s credit profile.