• Summon Finance Ministry, CBN, others
From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation has rejected the N18. 32 trillion revenue target in the 2024 fiscal year, saying it has to be raised.
Consequently, the committee summoned the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria( CBN), Yemi Cardoso and chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service ( FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, to appear before it over the 2024 budget proposal.
The chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Abubakar Bichi, gave the summon yesterday, at an interactive forum between the Committee and relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), on the 2024 Appropriation Bill.
Also summoned to appear before the committee are the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and other Government Owned Enterprises ( GEOs).
Others are the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
Bichi said all those summoned are to appear before the committee on Monday.
The Appropriation committee chairman stated that the projected revenue for the 2024 fiscal year was insufficient, hence the need for further interaction between the parliament and the GEOs.
According to him, “the objective of this engagement is, among others, to provide highlights on some key issues in relation to the preparation, enactment, and implementation of the 2024 budget. The highlights may include strategies for addressing rising inflation, reducing the burden of Nigeria’s debt profile, sectoral budgetary allocations, and the dynamics of budget releases.
“Others are economic diversification strategies, revenue generation forecasts, and any useful information that will facilitate the enactment of the bill and effective implementation of the Appropriations Act, 2024.”
Bichi stated that in a bid to address the infrastructural gap in the country and achieve the eight-point Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Bola Tinubu administration, there is need to tie all lose ends as far the revenue of the country is concerned.
He added: “While the revised MTEF and FSP showed that revenue-generating efforts by the present administration are already yielding fruit, more needs to be done to ensure that government-owned enterprises optimize their revenue-generating potential.”
Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, while speaking at the interactive session, said the 2024 Appropriation Bill made provision for increased spending in infrastructure, power, education amongst others.
Bagudu explained that these included a proposal for $100 billion for the Sustainable Agriculture Fund. He stated that there is need to boost revenue generation, so as to grow the economy.
According to him, We need a budget that can be trusted. We don’t have money; we are looking for money, so that is why we need to interrogate the revenue-generating agencies. “
Also, the Director General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Patience Oniha, who also appeared before the lawmakers, explained that the country’s public debt currently stood at N87.38 trillion. Oniha stated that this consisted of both external and domestic, as at the second quarter of 2023.