Everest Amaefule, AbujaThe Federal Government is using part of the funds recovered from those who looted the treasury to finance the 2017 budget, President Muhammadu Buhari has said.

Buhari, who spoke at the 22nd Annual Conference of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria in Abuja on Tuesday, was represented by the Accountant General of the Federation, Alhaji Idris Ahmed.

He said the government had resolved to use some of the recovered stolen funds to finance this year’s budget.

Buhari said, “My administration has practically done much in delivering on its core focus of diversifying the economy. Part of the stolen funds recovered is being used by the government to finance the 2017 budget.

“Power generation peaked at an all-time high of 7,001 megawatts in the third quarter of 2017.”

The President also disclosed that his administration was aiming to produce 10,000MW of electricity by the year 2020.

He said the firm implementation of the Treasury Single Account since September 2015 had significantly enhanced transparency in the Federal Government’s public financial management system.

Speaking at the conference, Chairman of Council, ANAN, Alhaji Shehu Ladan, pledged the support of the association to the government’s economic agenda.

“The accountant is key. We are calling on our members to increase their integrity quotient. As an association, we are strengthening our discipline mechanism to ensure that members found wanting do not go unpunished,” Ladan stated.

He said it was important for the government to ensure the reinvestment of the recovered stolen funds to ensure quicker recovery of the economy.

Punchng