GOEs Contribution To Fund Budget Not Enough -Reps

By Oduyemi Odumafe

Revenue Projections for Government Owned Enterprises, GOEs and other revenue generating agencies contributions to fund the 2024 budget is not enough.

The Chairman, House Committee on Appropriations, Abubakar Kabir Bichi who stated this at the resumed interactive with GOEs over the 2024 declaration of revenue target
said revenue must be increased if the government is to reduce borrowings to fund the budget.

“The interactive session was to discuss further areas where the country could find money to fund the 2024 budget, hence the agencies must appear before it to explain why they are making low projections when they have the capacity to do more.

Bichi noted that reducing the burden of Nigeria’s debt profile, sectoral budgetary allocations, and the dynamics of budget releases, economic diversification strategies, revenue generation forecasts is needed to facilitate the enactment of the bill and effective implementation of the Appropriations Act, 2024.

He insisted that the revenue-generating agencies must come with money because, without money, there is no magic the president can perform to ensure the realization of the Renewed Hope Budget.

He noted that there were concerns about addressing the infrastructural gap in the country, eliminating poverty, and generally achieving the 8-Point Renewed Hope Agenda and that there was need to ensure that all loose ends torevenue were tied.

This, he said, could have a gross impact on the government’s ability to implement the 2024 Appropriation Bill when passed.

Also speaking, The Director General of Debt Management Office, Patience Oniha told the Committee that unless the revenue generating agencies in the country increases revenue generation and contributions to government treasury, the government would continue to borrow to fund annual budget.

She disclosed that as at June 2023, total government debt stood at N87.37 trillion spread across the three tiers of government and the FCT, with the Federal Government accounting for 90 percent of the debt.

She said the country has been running a deficit budget for several years with the DMO required to raise funds locally and internationally to support the budget.

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed all ministers to begin to think out of the box on how to increase government revenue.

“Mr. President is ambitious, and he is very clear that Nigeria is not where it is; the revenue we collect is about 10 percent, and the president has directed that we raise it to 18 percent.”

The committee had invited heads of the Government Owned Enterprise which includes, Nigeria Port Authority,
Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited NNPCL, Federal inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Central Bank of Nigeria, Customs, among other agencies.

The committee turned back Representatives of the CBN, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) insisting that the Governor of Central Bank, Mr.Yemi Cardoso,
the Comptroller General of Customs Mr. Adewale Adeniyi
and the Executive Chairman of Federal inland Revenue Service Mr. Zacch Adedeji must appear in person on Monday.

Edited By Grace Namij