Unlike what obtained in the immediate past administration, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, has said the administration of President Bola Tinubu will account for revenue from oil.
Edun said this when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation to defend the 2024 appropriation bill. He said the issue of accounting for oil revenue is germane, “and clearly whatever we have met as a way of monitoring oil revenue and payment into the federation account will be done.”
The minister said he was in agreement with many who had pointed out the fact that, the federal government must have a system of paying into government coffers with exchange rates. He said that the current administration`s plan was to increase revenue from taxation, adding that there was a need to increase the efficiency of tax administration collection.
Edun said the government depends on foreign direct investment, including domestic and the private sector to grow the economy. He said the government was not spending enough on key infrastructure, adding that there was a need to interrogate why there seemed to be an overestimation of certain expenditures.
The minister said the plethora of share waste in the number of taxes was being compressed, saying that 90 per cent of tax revenue from the government comes from a particular tax end.
According to him, all the rest that goes out in the name of taxes and levies do not go into the government coffer. Edun said there was a comprehensive revamping of tax administration, which was done through the instrumentality of the tax reform committee.
This, according to him, has a lot to operate with and will be suggesting ways to go about the tax system. Rep. Abubakar Bitchi, the Chairman, Appropriation, said there was a need to look at the 2024 budget proposal in order to support the president’s renewed hope agenda.
He said money was needed to achieve this through more funding, saying all the revenue-generating agencies were summoned to ensure Nigeria got the money. We need to find a way out to achieve the objective of the president’s renewed hope budget. Nigerians are happy that we are reducing borrowing.
