FG to leverage FIRS’ capacity to finance Agenda 2050 Development plan

By Amechi Ogbonna

Following its improved capacity to mobilise funds in support of the Federal Government’s development agenda, the Minister of State for Finance Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, has called on the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) toredouble its efforts to make taxation the mainstay of the Nigerian economy.

He gave the charge  while declaring open the 2022, Corporate Retreat of the FIRS, said that  his Ministry, in line with its mandate and Presidential approval, has reached an advanced stage in the development of Nigeria Agenda 2050 which is the country’s prospective development plan to replace the Nigeria Vision 20:2020..

While commending the  Service for achieving a collection feat in 2021 with its over 100 per cent target and crossing N6.405 trillion tax revenue threshold for the first time in the  history of Nigeria, Agba said the task of improving Nigeria’s tax revenue collection and funding position was urgent and a task that must be done without fail.  

In his keynote address on Thursday at the FIRS 2022 Corporate Retreat with the theme: “Consolidating on the Gains of the FIRS Reforms: 2019 to Date,”  the minister observed that the financing of the National Development Plan  (NDP) will rely heavily on domestic resource mobilization, especially from Non-Oil revenue sources.

According to him, the revenue profile of the government has been seriously challenged in the recent past due to multiple factors.

For instance, Agba noted that  aggregate investment in exploration declined from $525billion in 2019 to $341billion in 2021, while investment in wind, solar and other renewable sources is soaring.

For its part, the Federal Government has put in place the Strategic Revenue Growth Initiative (SRGI) and the annual Finance Act to mobilise domestic funds necessary for human capital and infrastructure development that are both drivers and enablers of sustainable economic growth and development.cremental changes to the tax laws via the annual Finance Act.  

Earlier in his welcome remarks, the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Mohammad M. Nami, said the 2 -day corporate retreat aims at bringing all members of the establishment to sit together, reflect, motivate one another and streamline  individual strengths of members towards shared objectives.