Kehinde Fajobi
The National Assembly Joint Committee on Finance has established a special panel to investigate a ₦4 trillion revenue shortfall attributed to indiscriminate waivers granted to government agencies.
This decision was made during a hearing aimed at examining the revenue profiles of Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs), and Government-Owned Enterprises (GOEs) in preparation for the 2025 budget defense.
The committee, co-chaired by Senator Sani Musa and Representative Abiodun Faleke, intends to develop accurate and realistic revenue projections for 2025, focusing on internally generated revenue and expenditure.
Senator Adamu Aliero highlighted the issue, stating, “Due to the issue of waivers, there is a serious shortfall between what is supposed to be collected as revenue and what is actually collected.”
He further noted that while over ₦5.9 trillion was expected as the consolidated revenue fund, only ₦1.9 trillion was collected, emphasizing the need for a special committee to investigate this anomaly.
Co-chairman Senator Sani Musa expressed concerns about GOEs collecting revenues from undisclosed sources, stating, “Some of them did not even disclose this to the budget office.”
He emphasised the committee’s commitment to blocking such leakages and scrutinising expenditures to ensure funds are properly remitted to the consolidated revenue fund.
Senator Musa also referenced President Bola Tinubu’s directive for MDAs to respect parliamentary summons, warning that any GOE failing to provide accurate accounts of its revenue and expenditure risks having a zero allocation in the 2025 budget proposal.
The committee questioned the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) for failing to remit ₦8 billion of its Internally Generated Revenue in 2024.
Despite generating ₦13 billion against a target of ₦10 billion, the FRSC remitted only ₦5 billion, prompting the committee to demand details of the unremitted funds.
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, emphasised that lessons learned from 2024 have informed the assumptions in the 2025 budget, which aims to generate more revenue and provide solutions for the economy.
He urged GOEs to think creatively to support the government’s efforts in repositioning the economy for the benefit of Nigerians.