Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search
News  

Govt may lose control of revenue from 31 agencies

By Mathias Okwe (Abuja), Chijoke Nelson, Victor Gbonegun and Adelowo Adebumiti (Lagos)
12 February 2016   |   2:25 am
FRESH trouble is brewing for the cash-strapped Federal Government as the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMFAC) yesterday declared that the presidency was wrong to have arrogated to itself ...

CBN

• RMFAC informs N’Assembly of move • FAAN, NAFDAC, CAC, SEC, NIMASA, NPA, NCC on list
• Bankers want CBN to bar overseas education, health tourism from forex use
• Support rises for non-devaluation of naira

FRESH trouble is brewing for the cash-strapped Federal Government as the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMFAC) yesterday declared that the presidency was wrong to have arrogated to itself the control of revenue generated by some 31 agencies. RMFAC is charged with revenue mobilisation and distribution among the three tiers of government.

Besides, against the backdrop of rising support for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s effort to revamp the economy, stakeholders in the banking sector under the aegis of the Bankers Committee yesterday urged that education and health tourism should be added to the list of 41 items denied foreign exchange (forex) through the official window.

Essentially, RMFAC is claiming that the revenue so generated ought to be remitted into the Federation Account where it would be distributed to the three tiers of government at the monthly Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC ) meeting.

Accordingly, RMFAC has drawn the attention of the National Assembly to what it described as an aberrant action by the Federal Government, and is asking for the abrogation of the decrees setting up such revenue generating agencies and to be properly legislated upon and set up by acts of the National Assembly.

The implication of the action being undertaken by RMFAC under its Acting Chairman, Shettima Umar Abba Gana, would see the Federal Government losing control of revenue generated by these agencies .

The affected agencies, mostly established via decrees, include: the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), National Agency for Food Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and Nigeria Security, Printing and Minting Corporation (NSPMC).

Others are Nigeria Export Processing Council, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Nigeria Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigeria Postal Service (NPS), Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigeria Re-Insurance, Nigeria Environmental Standards and Regulatory Agency, National Clearing and Forwarding Agency, Nigeria Shippers Council, Nigeria Mining Corporation (NMC), National Sugar Development Agency, National Automobile Council, Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation, National Agency for Engineering Agency and Raw Materials Research and Development Council.

The RMAFC’s argument is that the laws establishing the agencies contravene the provisions of Sections 1(3) and 162(1&10) of 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

The spokesman of RMAFC, Ibrahim Mohammed, yesterday confirmed to The Guardian the request made by his establishment to the National Assembly, saying it was inconsistent with the nation’s constitution for the Federal Government to be collecting revenue from the agencies concerned.

The Bankers Committee met in Abuja to fashion out means of making the banks play their traditional roles of assisting the real sector in the economy to be the engine of growth.

It is coming following the realisation that demands forex on a monthly basis by the apex bank and the Bankers Committee for just education and medical tourism alone exceeds 15 per cent, whereas, these services can as well be obtained locally.

In this regard, banks in the country have been advised to focus on how to boost the real sector by prioritising the financing of raw materials development and upgrade of local infrastructure, including educational and medical facilities to curtail the high rate of exodus of Nigerians.

Leading the debate at a colloquium organised by TheCable with the theme “The Naira on Trial: To Devalue or Not,” in Lagos, yesterday, Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomole, said that while it was true that the country’s foreign exchange earnings had plummeted, it was not true that all the demands for foreign currencies were worthy of attention.

“I still think the import prohibition list needs to be increased. At least, medical tourism is greatly impeding on the foreign exchange reserves. Those whose children are schooling abroad for status symbol are also part of it. These must be included, so that we can begin to take responsibility,” he said.

According to him, the value of the naira should no longer be determined by rates in relation to other currencies, but by what it could offer citizens.

“Who wants devaluation? It is the investment bankers who sit in their offices with their laptops to analyse other countries’ economies and relate it to Nigeria and speculate how it will rub off on the naira and expect everyone to take their opinions as they are.

“If oil had remained at $140 per barrel or even above, no one would have bothered about devaluation. When humans do not labour to earn, they behave irrationally and that is why the country is in this condition now”, Oshiomhole said.

The Director of Monetary Policy, CBN, Moses Tule, canvassed a framework capable of attracting Foreign Direct Investment and urged Oshiomhole to lead the campaign for an investment-friendly climate.

He said that the agitators for devaluation and speculators had used the situation of low foreign exchange earnings to arbitrage on the naira, saying that even other West African countries come to Nigeria for foreign exchange through them.

“The total of foreign reserves in West African countries as at June 2015, was $32 billion, out of which Nigeria has $29 billion. Why is it that those countries are not facing the pressure like us?” he queried.

7 Comments

  • Author’s gravatar

    Excluding all those agencies’ revenue from the TSA is a recipe for corruption. Pure & Simple. Indeed, corruption is fighting back! Poor Buhari. It is so hard for this country to change. Lord have mercy.

  • Author’s gravatar

    The federal government under Buhari has no respect for the laws of Nigeria. Buhari pretends that he is fighting corruption, to break the laws and grab all the money through subterfuge. Only to loot the collected money through his own cronies.
    Where is the 22 trillion Buhari has collected so far from “corrupt” people? its no where to be found.

    Instead to our dismay, we see more unspeakable corruption happening before our eye under Saint Buhari, such as budgeting millions of naira for “rent” to the landlord of the Aso Rock presidential villa and budgeting billions of naira for Presidential villa furniture. Does Buhari want to say there are no chairs and tables at the villa that Nigeria should spend such unholy amounts on ‘renovating and furnishing” the villa again in a time we are struggling to pay salaries and our soldiers?

    Buhari should learn from the New tanzanian president. He not only preaches anti corruption, he practices it by living modestly and cutting the size of expenditure the president consumes in the national budget. When men act, you truly know who they are and not necessarily what they run their mouths talking about and paying lip service to prudence. Buhari always talks about prudence and anti-corruption. But he does not practice them nor lead by personal example.

    • Author’s gravatar

      can you stop your Buhari bashing for once. This had been the practice before this administration where the FG collects revenues from the named agencies. This will need a constitutional interpretation.

    • Author’s gravatar

      Continue your rants, you are naive of what is happening in the country. Budget is a proposal, if those vested the power of approval are rejecting it, that is a healthy idea. The proposals in question hasn’t been spent compared to the thieves who diverted monies meant for arm purchase. Nigerians are wise enough to decide for themselves, they know those who wants to destroy their future.

      • Author’s gravatar

        The problem with what you are saying is that we don’t have the law makers that would really question and fight to cut the waste and abuse. so when such a budget is proposed, it is pretty much a done deal. yes the law makers are questioning some allocations, but we are yet to see major action in cutting their own budget not to mention the MDA.

  • Author’s gravatar

    it is because of the desire of a few political elite that we have the kind of federalism we have. how can one agency be saying that executive agencies should have to pay their revenue to the federal government that is in charge of them. instead we should continue the depressing and laziness inducing act of sharing money to state. This sharing of revenue to states, has created states that solely demand on allocation and are too lazy to generate revenue. governors build state house in Abuja, just to sit and beg for allocation, instead of being in their state working on generating revenue and improving their states. Now corruption is really fighting back, we would see what our president is made off, because if he allows TSA to be destroyed, then corruption would have won and there would be no hope for our nation. Now is the time we either change the law and fight corruption head on.
    CBN really needs to add more things to the ban from getting FOREX. only the elite and their children are benefitting from educational and medical forex policy. If half of that money is spend in our educational and medical system, we would begin to see some massive improvement. Elites and average Nigerian’s want improvement in everything, yet don’t want to invest in them. university and hospital need revenue to constantly improve their processes and product. if they are not getting revenue, how are they going to employ the top professor, or doctors, purchase new medicines or equipment. educational and medical tourism should be stop for everyone especially the political class.