From Basil Obasi, Abuja
The President of Nigeria Association of Auctioneers, Alhaji Aliyu Kiliya, has said that Nigeria can generate over N1 trillion from the auctions industry if the government can put in place the right policies and legal framework that is business friendly.
Kiliya, who disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja, explained that if government engaged the services of certified auctioneers, the country could generate more revenue from the sector.
He bemoaned the current situation where properties which could be converted into money are left to waste and decompose at various offices of government, asking the government to be proactive in developing a model that change this ugly trend in the interest of the Nigerian people. Kiliya stated that the government has been blind as it concerns the sector, which is a billion dollar industry in other countries of the world.
According to him: “A lot of properties including confiscated items by the Nigerian Customs, EFCC, properties that are no longer being put to use, abandoned at various government offices such as the Nigeria Railway Corporation, CBN, NITEL to mention but a few, could be sold than allowed to decompose into waste”.
“Cases to mention are those of government departments like the NDLEA, Nigeria Customs Service, EFCC and ICPC, which seize and confiscate vehicles and property from drug dealers, smugglers, and people indicted for fraud and graft”.
“On a yearly basis, they confiscate items worth several billions of Naira; the seizures are always announced and broadcasted in the media but what happens to the seized items is never disclosed”, he said.
He further noted that the Nigeria Association of Auctioneers (NAA) is established to bring together auctioneers, valuers and insolvency professionals in both commercial and private practice and should be repositioned to play its role if the government is to make auctioneering viable source of revenue.
