The Kano State chapter of the Nigerian Association of Auctioneers (NAA) says the state government is losing about N1 billion annually due to the non-auctioning of used government property.
The Secretary of the association, Mr. Isah Deneji, told journalists in Kano that many items removed during government renovations and reconstructions, such as electronics, furniture, roofing sheets, air conditioners and interlock tiles, were being stolen by individuals instead of being auctioned.
He said the development had created huge financial losses for the state.
“I want to call on the governor, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, to kindly direct the Ministry of Finance to resume the auctioning of items declared obsolete by the government.
“The governor is undertaking a lot of renovations across ministries and agencies, but the replaced items are either left to rot or are carted away by some staff.
“We are licensed auctioneers who renew our licenses annually, but the government has stopped engaging us. Items worth about N1 billion are lost yearly to theft instead of being sold and the proceeds credited to the state account,” he said.
Deneji alleged that about 20 air conditioners were recently stolen during the renovation of the Government House.
He added that resuming auctioning would curb the theft of government property and ensure accountability.
Reacting, the Commissioner for Works, Mr. Marwan Ahmad, said his ministry was not responsible for auctioning government property, noting that such duties fall under the Ministry of Finance.
He, however, condemned the indiscriminate removal of government property by members of the public at construction and renovation sites.
“Just recently, interlock tiles worth about one million naira were removed from a site. We secured them, and another office requested them for reuse. In fact, they demanded more than we had in stock,” Ahmad said.