Chairman of Nigeria’s National Assembly, Senator Ahmad Lawan, on February 1st, 2022, indicated that: revenue generating agencies of the federal government of Nigeria were capable of generating and remitting N3 trillion annually to the federation account if efforts were made to cut down on wasteful spending. The meeting was held with several revenue generating agencies, to “improve internally generated revenue of the federal government of Nigeria and Revenue Projections of the Agencies as Contained in the Appropriation Act 2022.”
Key Outcome Of The Meeting To Amend Sections of The Finance Act:
The Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali (retd.) caused a stir at the meeting when he raised the alarm that the Finance Act passed last month, incapacitated the NCS and other revenue generating agencies apart from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) from collecting revenues.
Ali argued: “Section 22 of the Finance Act 2022 seeks to amend the Federal Inland Revenue Service Law Section 68 (1), (2), (3), (4) and (6) by allowing the Act to takes precedent over any other laws with regards to the administration of taxes, assessment, accounting, collection and enforcement of taxes and levies due to the federal government and the federation of Nigeria.
Senator Solomon Adeola said: “There is an urgent need for all hands to be on deck on revenue generation for government, as well as prevent misuse and leakages of such revenue for frivolous purposes not sanctioned by the laws of the National Assembly.”
Agencies In Attendance
Revenue generating agencies in attendance at the National Assembly Finance Act Amendment session included: National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), National Steel Raw Materials Exploration Agency, Nigerian Postal Service, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, and Nigeria Customs Service.
Others were the Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigeria Prisons Service, Maritime Academy of Nigeria, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), and Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS).
Also present were the Federal Capital Territory Administration, Energy Commission of Nigerians, Administrative Staff College of Nigeria, Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM), Nigerian Ports Authority and the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria.
