ABUJA, Nigeria – The Nigeria Customs Service and 62 other Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, MDAs, of the Federal Government are set to relinquish their direct revenue collection role.
The move, intended to streamline revenue collection processes and improve efficiency, will entrust this critical responsibility to the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS.
The announcement was made by Taiwo Oyedele, the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Tax Policy and Fiscal Reforms, during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily breakfast show on Wednesday, August 9, 2023.
Oyedele, with his background as a former Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), highlighted that despite Nigeria’s record of low tax revenue collection, the costs associated with the process are alarmingly high.
Oyedele emphasized, “The irony is palpable. We are spending so much to collect so little. The multifarious agencies involved in the process, many of which have no primary revenue collection mandate, only contribute to the inefficiencies.”
He further stated, “With 63 MDAs having been given revenue targets in the 2023 budget, the current system is replete with redundancies and distractions. Instead of focusing on their core duties aimed at bolstering the economy, these agencies are sidetracked by the revenue collection objective, a task they weren’t designed for in the first place.”
The government expects dual benefits by transferring the revenue collection role to the FIRS.
Not only will it reduce the collection costs, but the entire process is also expected to become much more efficient.
This shift in focus is anticipated to allow various agencies to concentrate on their primary roles, ultimately facilitating economic progress.
Activist Group Calls on Tinubu to Probe Disappeared $2.1 billion and N3.1 trillion Oil Revenue
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has urged President Bola Tinubu to promptly probe the alleged disappearance of $2.1 billion and N3.1 trillion of public oil revenues and budgeted fuel subsidy payments between 2016 and 2019, as documented by the Auditor-General of the Federation.
In a letter dated June 3, 2023, signed by SERAP’s deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization called for a presidential panel of inquiry to be established.
It also urged the president to “name and shame” anyone suspected to be responsible for the alleged widespread and systemic corruption linked to the oil revenues and fuel subsidy management.
The advocacy group also appealed to the president to probe all fuel subsidy payments made by successive governments since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.
It recommended that any recovered proceeds of crime be used as palliatives to offset the impact of any fuel subsidy removal on impoverished Nigerians.
The letter partly reads, “Your government should urgently act to follow due process of law in any policy to remove fuel subsidy, ensure that suspected perpetrators of these crimes against Nigerians are brought to justice and full recovery of any missing public funds.”
SERAP warned against the arbitrary removal of fuel subsidy without addressing outstanding accountability issues linked to the alleged mismanagement of oil revenues and fuel subsidy payments.
It suggested that this would further impoverish the poor, while the corrupt high-profile officials go unpunished.
The organization demanded a response within three days or threatened to take all necessary legal actions to compel the government to comply in the public interest.
It recommended that the proposed panel be led by a retired Supreme Court or Court of Appeal justice, with members of the highest integrity, capable of acting impartially and transparently.
