By Gloria Ikibah
The National Assembly Joint Committee on Finance has directed Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to block leakages and put stringent measures in place in other to achieve the N10.5 trillion revenue target for the year 2025.
The Joint Committee also issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Chief Executive Officers of key revenue generating agencies including Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, Managing Directors of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Adedayo Adeyeye and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dayo Mobereola.
The lawmakers who zealously opposed the N6.5 trillion revenue projection presented for the year, called on the need for the Service to ensure effective monitoring of its personnel, address issues bothering on under-declaration, among other sharp practices at the nation’s ports.
In his address, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa explained that the N10.5 trillion new revenue target was achievable after due consideration of available information obtained from the Budget Office of the Federation.and other parameters.
He however noted that the Parliament will not hesitate to raise the revenue target to N12 trillion if the issue of non-remittance of 80 percent Operating Surplus as provided by the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 is not addressed with Fiscal Responsibility Commission.
In his presentation, FRC Chairman, Victor Murako alleged that NCS which started to comply with provisions of the Act in 2015 to 2019, has failed to remit the Operating Surplus to the Consolidated Revenue Fund till date.
According to him, the Service is indebted to the tune of N8.6 billion as at 2019, adding that the agreement reached after the intervention of the Public Accounts Committee last year was not honored by Nigeria Customs Service.
While responding to the presentation, NCS Comptroller General, Mr. Adeniyi Adewale promised to work with the Legal Department to address the issue of operating surplus between one or two weeks.
On the question bothering on the revenues accruing to Nigerian Customs Service as raised by Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Rep. James Faleke, the NCS Comptroller General disclosed that the Service collects 2 percent Value Added Tax, 7 percent collection while 4 percent FOB was yet to be implemented but being worked out by the Ministry of Finance and office of Accountant General of the Federation.
He however observed that the CISS comes occasionally over the past two years.
The lawmakers who spoke during the interactive session with heads of key revenue generating agencies including Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Commission (NDIC), however decried the failure of heads of some government revenue generating agencies to honour invitation and appear for 2025 budget defence.
They highlighted that the affected agencies including: Nigerian Postal Service (NPS) and the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), risk withdrawal of funding for 2025 fiscal year.
Others are: Nigerian Copyright Commission, National Insurance Commission, National Pensions Commission, National Space and Research Development Agency and Nigerian Metrological Agency.
Also included are: Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporations, Airspace Management Authority, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas Limited (NLNG), Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Bank of Industry (BoI), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaira.
In his remarks, Chairman, Senate Committee of Finance, Senator Musa observed that President Bola Tinubu while presenting the 2025 budget to the joint session of the National Assembly, mandated all the Ministers and heads of agencies to appear to defend their respective budgets before assembly with every sense of responsibility.
The Senator said that members of the National Assembly had to cut short their Christmas holidays to attend to the national assignment.
“But to our dismay a lot of agencies have refused to honor our invitations to appear before us, for us to scrutinise their performances in 2024 and look at their 2025 projection, if it is justifiable.
“The all these agencies have refused to honour the joint committee’s invitation. So by virtue of the constitutional powers that have been given to the joint Committees on Finance of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, we are given the chief executives of these agencies 48 hours within which to appear before this joint committee.
“Failure to do that the committee will not hesitate to recommend to the Appropriation Committee to withhold any appropriation to these agencies.
“If these agencies are self funded, we will also request both the Minister of Finance and the Accountant General of the Federation to withhold their funding,” he said.
Also speaking, the Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Hon. James Faleke (APC-Lagos state) said that the essence of the budget defence exercise was to boost revenue generation and cut down on borrowing.
“If these agencies refuse to appear before us, I the needful will be done by the National Assembly,” he said.