The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria has said that the dearth of entrepreneurship programmes is one of the reasons for the huge level of poverty and unemployment rate in the country.
This was one of the highlights of a communiqué issued at the end of the annual accountants’ conference held in Abuja.
The communiqué, which was jointly signed by Chairman of Council of ICAN, Nnamdi Okwuadigbo, and Chairman of ICAN Conference Planning Committee, Queensley Seghosime, called on the government to address the issue of unemployment and poverty by creating start-up entrepreneurship programmes for youths.
The programme, it noted, must be supported with the right policies and low-interest funding.
It also recommended a three-way approach to the Federal Government in its fight against corruption.
The institute urged the government to adopt education, prevention and sanctions in its anti-corruption drive towards positioning the economy to grow in a sustainable manner.
“Some of the agencies created to fight corruption appear to be overwhelmed by the enormity of the problem and have in certain instances adopted strategies that seem to infringe on the rights of citizens.
“The sanctions to be meted out on corrupt citizens must be fair and not selective. It should not be seen to infringe on the rights of citizens. These institutions and agencies should demonstrate independence from government interference”, it said.
On public accountability, it advised the Federal Government to hasten the full implementation of International Public Sector Accounting Standards to enhance transparency in public financial management and reporting.
