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Some ministers in the cabinet of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu have defended the administration’s borrowing plan amidst an increase in revenue targets by the government revenue agencies.
Speaking on Monday at the ongoing sessions with the Federal Government agencies and the National Assembly joint Committees on Finance, Budget and National Planning on 2025 – 2027 Medium Term Expenditure Frame Work (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), Senator representing Kebbi Central Adamu Aliero had asked the Ministers, pointedly “what is the Federal Government and its agencies doing with excess revenues generated by the various agencies in view of its unending request for foreign loan approval ?”.
Checks revealed that the Senate last week approved Tinubu’s request for $ 2.209 billion, equivalent to N1.767.
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, reminded the federal lawmakers that the borrowing plans contained in the N35.5 trillion 2024 budget, were primarily meant to fund the deficit which is N9.7 trillion.
He said, “Despite revenue targets surpassing by some of the revenue generating agencies, the 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 have a long-term development perspective plan agenda 2050 aiming at a GDP per capita of $33,000.”
His counterpart in the Ministry of Finance, Wale Edun, spoke in a similar vein as he noted that borrowing was still needed for proper funding of the budget despite increased revenues made by some agencies.
Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service,( FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, also told the lawmakers that loans being requested for by the Executive were already part of the appropriation act.
He said, “Borrowing is part of what has 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.”
The FIRS boss also told the gathering that the agency under his leadership has surpassed its revenue target.
According to him, on Company Income Tax, N4 trillion was targeted but N5.7 trillion has been realised now. On Education tax, while N70 billion was targeted, a total of N1.5 trillion has been realised.
“All in all, out of N19.4trillion targeted for the 2024 fiscal year, N18.5trillion was realised as at the end of September, which clearly shows that the target, will be far exceeded by the end of the year,” he said.
Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service ( NCS) Bashir Adeniyi also declared that as of last September, Customs has raked in N5.352 trillion revenue which is above N5.09 trillion targeted for the entire 2024 fiscal year.
He further disclosed that N6.3 trillion is targetted as projected revenue for 2025, 10% increase of which would be the revenue target for 2026 and an additional 10% increase for the 2027 fiscal year.
The Group Chief Executive Officer ( GCEO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited ( NNPCL), Mele Kyari in his own presentation, said the Company exceeded the N12.3trillion revenue projected for 2024 by already raking in, N13.1trillion
“For the 2025 fiscal year, N23.7 trillion is projected by NNPCL to be remitted into the federation account .”
The Senate however expressed reservations on what it called the lopsided private-public partnership arrangements between the Immigration Service of Nigeria and a firm on passport production, which gave the consultancy firm 70% of proceeds and the government 30%.
Senator representing Niger East and Chairman Senate Committee on Finance, Sani Musa, directed the Immigration to present all the documents on the unacceptable PPP arrangement to the committee before the end of the week.
He said, “The so-called PPP arrangement must be reviewed or cancelled because Nigeria and Nigerians, are seriously being short-changed.”
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