By Tosin Olatokunbo
The federal government has taken the first bold step in decades to mop up revenue accruing from various government agencies after the backlash of COVID 19 which has reduced income by over 60 per cent since March this year when the novel pandemic broke out.
The minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed disclosed on Tuesday in Abuja that the government is now ready to block leakages and reduce corruption among funds generating agencies.
In the new regime, the minister said Revenue Directors will be sent to key agencies such as NPA, NNPC, NIMASA, the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS to oversee government revenue.
Others are the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN and Nigeria Shippers’ Council, NSC.
Keen analysts told the magazine that the government has decided to burst the cartels diverting what’s supposed to be paid into government purse, into private pockets.
All the agencies have not been spared from the accusation of under-remittance as pressure continue to mount on the federal government to probe allegations of corruption in key revenue agencies such as the NNPC and FIRS.
Minister Ahmed said the initiative was in compliance with a presidential approval conveyed via a circular reference SGF.50/S.3/C.9/24 of 16 October 2018, on the approved Revenue Performance Management Framework for Government-Owned Enterprises, FGOEs.
She explained the need to plug revenue leakages in view of challenges facing the government in terms of generating funds.
According to the minister “Government is increasingly concerned with the dwindling profile of revenue and this trend has to be quickly arrested particularly with key revenue generating agencies of the government.
“Analysis of budgets of some of the FGOEs show that they have the capacities if properly managed, to significantly improve the revenue base of the federal government.”
She explained the role of revenue Directors and directed the FGOEs to cooperate with them.
She said “The discharge of these duties will be aided with the deployment of information technology. The Integrated Revenue Monitoring System is being put in place to help the monitoring of the revenues of the FGOEs online real-time and to ensure its improved transparency and accountability,” she said.
“It is my considered opinion that the presence of directors of revenue at the FGOEs will ensure strict adherence to extant rules and regulations in the areas of compliance to the approved budget and due process mechanism in procurement and payments.
“The directors of revenue, in the course of the discharge of their functions shall be involved in the revenue operations of the FGOEs, have a better understanding of business processes and operations of the FGOEs and cause improved transparency and accountability in revenue reporting by the FGOEs.
“In addition, they are expected to seek opportunities and avenues for revenue improvements, which are the ultimate aim of the government,” she said. Also, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustafa who was represented at the event, said only through professional treasury officers that the government would get a better understanding of the business processes and operations of its revenue-generating agencies. According to him, “Government has noted that a number of GOEs remit less operating surpluses to the Consolidated Revenue Fund than is required by law and/or financial regulations.
“All the GOEs concerned should cooperate with the treasury officers posted to them so as to achieve this noble objective of the government. They are to be regarded as partners in progress that they are and be allowed unfettered access to relevant information and records.”
Meanwhile, watchers of events informed the magazine that the initiative is a good one but warned the government not to expect significant revenue performance immediately, as the new revenue administrators will soon blend into the corrupt system
The latest move, they insist will also affect the independence enjoyed by some of these agencies.
