President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has set up an inter-ministerial committee that will verify Nigerian assets abroad, receives report on the Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System (IPPIS).

Minister of Information Labaran Maku in company of the Minister of State for Finance, Yerima Ngama made the disclosure at a media briefing on the outcome of the weekly FEC meeting chaired by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan at the state house, Abuja on Wednesday, February 13.

Maku who listed the assets to include those of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Navy stated that the inter-ministerial committee is headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru.

The Committee according to him has representatives from the Federal Ministries of Finance, Housing and Urban Development, Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP), Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) and the Special Adviser to the President on Performance Evaluation, Prof. Sylvester Monye.

The Federal Government has so far audited 215 MDAs and 153,019 workers as of January 2013 this year under the Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System (IPPIS) that was introduced to enhance efficiency in personnel cost, planning and budgeting on actual verified number and not estimates.

Ngama stated that a total of 321 MDAs have not been captured in the IPPIS, adding that Federal Government has been established the Treasury Single Account (TSA) as a unified structure of government bank account, which gives a consolidated view of the cash position to government.

He disclosed that 92 MDAs are currently on TSA while 97 Abuja-based MDAs would be added by next month.

The Minister of State for Finance maintained that the Ministry is charged with the responsibility for fiscal consolidation, budget composition, increase revenue generation and building of buffers to take care of financial crisis.

He said that the ministry is also responsible for efficient micro economic management, mobilisation of fund for the real sector development and introduction of structural reforms that will enhance jobs creation.

He announced government’s plan to increase capital expenditure to 60 per cent and reduce recurrent expenditure to 40 percent with a view towards reducing fiscal responsibility of 6.11per cent to 2.17 this year and ultimately bring it down to about 1.7per cent.

Ngama noted that the ministry broke the jinx surrounding late preparation of budget as the 2013 budget was presented at a record time in September 2012.