By Abba -Eku Onyeka, Abuja
The chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Mohammed Sani Musa has ordered the Nigeria Immigration Services (NIS) to present all the documents on the unacceptable Private Public Partnership (PPP) arrangements
to the National Assembly’s joint Committee on Finance, Budget and National Planning before the end of the week.
This order was given to the ISN by the Committee during an interactive sessions its revenue generating agencies it had with the National Assembly’s joint Committees on Finance, Budget and National Planning on 2025 – 2027 Medium Term Expenditure Frame Work ( MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper ( FSP) Monday.
The Committee Chairman gave the order to ISN, stating that the PPP arrangement must be reviewed or cancelled because with the reason that Nigeria and Nigerians, are seriously being short changed.
This was as a result of lopsidedness in the PPP arrangements on passport production, which gave consultancy firm 70% of proceeds and 30% to the Federal Government (FG).
However, in their separate presentations before the joint Committees on the 2024 budget performance and revenue projections for N49.7 trillion 2025 budget, the revenue generating agencies made excess revenue target submissions in the 2024 fiscal year.
First to make the submission, was the Comptroller – General of Nigeria Customs Service ( NCS) Bashir Adeniyi who said by 30th of September this year, Customs has raked in N5.352trillion revenue which is above N5.09trillion targeted for the entire 2024 fiscal year, even as he added that N6.3trillion is targeted as projected revenue for 2025, 10% increase of which would be the revenue target for 2026 and additional 10% increase for 2027 fiscal year .
In his own presentation, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr Mele Kyari said the Company exceeded the N12.3trillion revenue projected for 2024 by already raking in, N13.1trillion, adding: “For the 2025 fiscal year , N23.7trillion is projected by NNPCL to be remitted into the federation account.”
On his own, the Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji informed the Joint Committees that FIRS had surpassed targeted revenues across the various tax components. In his explanations, he said that on Company Income Tax, N4trillion was targeted but N5.7trillion has been realised now, adding that in education tax, while N70billion was targeted, a total of N1.5trillion has been realised .
Out of N19.4trillion targeted for 2024 fiscal year, according to him, N18.5trillion was realized as at the end of September, which he said showed that the target, will be far exceeded by the end of the year.
Bewildered at the submissions by revenue generating agencies, members of the Senator Sani Musa – led joint committee, took them up on why the FG is still seeking for foreign loans despite the high increase of internally generated revenues. Questioning on the issue was Senator Adamu Aliero (PDP Kebbi Central), who demanded what the FG is doing with excess revenues generated by the various agencies in view of its unending request for foreign loan approval.
Responding, the FIRS boss said: “Borrowing is part of what have been approved by the National Assembly for the federal government, meaning that the executive borrows based on approval of the legislature. The fact that we meet revenue targets and even surpassed them as revenue generating agencies , does not mean that the borrowing component of an appropriation law , passed by the National Assembly should not be activated “, he said .
Similarly the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, said the federal lawmakers should not forget that the borrowing plans contained in the N35.5trillion 2024vbudget, were primarily meant to fund the deficit which is N9.7trillion. Despite revenue targets surpassing by some of the revenue generating agencies , government still needs to borrow for proper funding of the budget , particularly in the area of deficit and productivity for the poorest and most vulnerable.We a long term development perspective plan agenda 2050 aiming at GDP per capital of $33,000”, he explained .
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, also explained to the federal lawmakers that borrowing was still needed for proper funding of the budget despite increased revenues made by some agencies.
