The President of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Prof Muhammad Akaro Mainoma has cautioned the Federal Government against reopening of land borders, describing the plan as hasty.
He said this on Tuesday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, while speaking with newsmen on the sidelines of the ANAN’s 5th Mandatory Continuing Professional Development (MCPD) Programme and induction of new members.
Mainoma noted that reopening the land borders now would erode the success recorded so far in the nation’s production capacity.
The ANAN President urged the government to improve more on the production capacity of economy before reopening of borders.
Mainoma said “To me, it is something that’s still early. The whole idea is to make sure that the productive capacity of the economy is enhanced. And if we allow borders to be reopened and people bring in goods, it is going to reduce the value that we have achieved.
“The nature of man is that we want something different. Once you allow goods to come in, you find out that taste will change and therefore it may affect the economic indices in the nation.
“It is better we stay a little while and ensure that we perfect the production process in such a way that our productive capacity is almost equal to the one that we are going to import.”
He noted that the body had helped government in fight against corruption by imbibing imbibe ethnics, schooled professionals on integrity and also introduced whistle-blower policy within the body.
Mainoma added that ANAN also maintains synergy with the government by ensuring erring members are punished to serve as deterrent to others.
In his address, the State Governor, Dapo Abiodun applauded members of the association for their roles in the nation’s development, noting that accounting “is at the heart of all professions.”
Abiodun represented by his Chief of Staff, Shuaib Salis, however, urged ANAN members to reinvent themselves and be creative in order to meet up with the demands of the 21st century.