The Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) has said that it will improve the Accountancy profession for the development of the nation’s economy, as it commissioned its new Secretariat in Lagos. 

He recalled that for over a decade and a half, the Association had been using a rented accommodation as its secretariat, adding that during his inauguration in April 2007, he made the development of infrastructure one of his priorities. 

He added that his ambition was also to ensure that construction works at the permanent site of the training arm of the Association, the Nigerian College of Accountancy (NCA), Jos kick off. 

He also recalled that the Association had made a giant stride when it completed an ultra-modern auditorium at the temporary location of the college in Jos with a sitting capacity of 2,000 people with the state of art facilities. 

The ANAN President requested that President Umar Yar’adua should assist the Association in constructing the permanent site of the post-graduate college in Jos, estimated to cost N5 billion. 

He noted that though the foundation laying of the college’s permanent site had been done, the Association envisaged that a factor that could militate against the project could be non-availability of funds. 

We are specifically calling on President Yar’adua as an educationist to intervene by assisting the college towards the advancement of the Accountancy profession in the country and Africa as a whole, he said. 

Nzekwe added that the college had grown too big in terms of intake of students, pointing out that it had specifically grown from 10 students in 1984 to over 3,000 students in 2008. 

He mentioned that the college had trained Professional Accountants for the nation and other African countries, saying that it was the noble dreams of the founding fathers of the Association that the college which was the first of its kind in Africa and second to a similar one in Scotland, be adequately supported by the federal government. 

The ANAN President expressed optimism that with the support of the federal government, the college would turn out to be the pride of the nation with all academic facilities in place to make the environment conducive to learning for the students. 

He noted that in the last 29 years, the college had produced 10,000 Professional Accounatnts who were presently contributing greatly to the growth of the nation’s economy. 

Nzekwe said that right from the college, the post-graduate students were trained to abide by the ethics of the profession and be transparent in their attitude. 

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babatunde Fashola commended ANAN for the completion of the building. Fashola who was represented by the Director of Finance and Administration in the Office of the Chief of Staff, Mr Kunle Odubela, said that the state government would support the Association if called upon to do so. 

The Governor described the state as one of the leading states in the country, saying that this was made possible because of the smooth transition from the former governor to the present one. 

The Chairman of the occasion and a fellow of ANAN, Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas commended the Association and urged the federal government to provide adequate infrastructure for the masses. 

Okoya-Thomas expressed regret over the demise of most government monuments, pointing out that the Nigeria Airways used to have 30 planes but no more. 

He also recalled that the Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL), which used to have over 20 vessels was also no more. 

The industrialist said that it was sad that so many funds were pumped into these projects but nothing was achieved. 

Okoya-Thomas mentioned that the infrastructure the nation had as at today, were what it used to have 10 years ago, adding that “people are hungry, unhappy and uneducated”.