An assessment of corporate property asset management (A case study of National Cereals Research Institute NCRI Badeggi).

Abstract

One major challenge confronting developing countries like Nigeria is that of inadequate provision and maintenance of corporate public assets and their worsening state is usually linked to inadequate and inefficient management culture. The aim of the study is to assess how corporate property assets are managed in the Nigerian Cereals and Research Institute NCRI, Badeggi, Niger state and this was achieved by identifying the categories of assets in the organization, the condition of these assets, examining the factors influencing their present condition and the identification of the management strategy that is adopted in the management of the assets in the study area. Data was collected with the use of questionnaires, personal observation and oral interview. Based on the Snowball’s non-probabilistic sampling techniques, a sample size of 24 respondents was chosen. Finding showed that, though the office complexes and staff quarters are in good condition, many facilities and infrastructures in the Institute are performing below specification and many of them have lost their economic value. Factor considered by the respondents for the poor state of assets in the study area include lack of maintenance policy with Relative Importance Index (RII) of 0.9904761905, misuse of assets by the users with RII of 0.9333333333 and Lack of timely response to maintenance work with RII of 0.8285714286. The less important factors include lack of experienced and well trained building maintenance personnel, inadequate provision of fund for maintenance and corruption with RII values of 0.7809523810, 0.7904761905 and 0.7619047619 respectively. The absence of efficient culture of maintenance is partly due to the absence of a clear-cut corporate assets maintenance policy. It was recommended that the institute should introduce effective monitoring and evaluation scheme, make adequate allocation of fund for assets management, develop a technical know-how on how to maintain and manage the procured properties, instill the spirit of patriotism and ownership among users of these assets, develop a legal framework on assets management, develop the political will to punish staff who are careless with properties in their custody and reward committed members of staff with regards to management of assets in their custody.