The Senate, on Monday, said if revenue-generating agencies make N3 trillion annually, the Federal Government’s borrowings and deficits in budget would reduce.
The Senate also promised to be strict in its oversight duties, noting that if the agencies prevent wasteful spendings the N3 trillion mark can be reached.
President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, gave the charge at an interactive session on “The Need to Improve Internally-Generated Revenue of the Federal Government of Nigeria and Revenue Projections of the Agencies as Contained in the Appropriation Act 2020”.
The meeting was between the Senate leadership and members of the Committee on Finance and revenue generating agencies of government.
The agencies
According Dr. Ezrel Tabiowo, Special Assistant (Press) to the Senate President, the revenue agencies at the meeting were National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), National Steel Raw Materials Exploration Agency.
The Nigerian Postal Service, Lagos University Teaching Hospital and Nigeria Customs Service were also there.
Others were the Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigeria Prisons Service, Maritime Academy of Nigeria, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), and Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS).
Also present were the Federal Capital Territory Administration, Energy Commission of Nigerians, Administrative Staff College of Nigeria, Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM), Nigerian Ports Authority and the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria.
How to stem budget deficits, borrowings
Dr. Tabiowo quoted the Senate President as saying “In 2022, the National Assembly assumed and rightly so, that our government-owned enterprises can generate up to N3 trillion.
“We are of the mindset that we can achieve that and, of course, ensure that we oversight to stall any possibility of unwarranted expenditures by agencies of government.
“But that does not mean in any way that it is going to be some kind of investigation on what you do, but an encouragement of what you need to do.
“In this meeting and subsequent ones, there should be no holds barred on discussions.
“Where an agency feels it is encumbered in any way from achieving its target, it should say so, so that we are able to prescribe the right solutions for it to perform.
“As a National Assembly, let me say that the Senate particularly will be stiff on generating more and more revenue.
“We will be rigid, we will continue to insist, because we believe that this is one sure and guaranteed way of reducing our deficit and borrowing.”
