The National Assembly on Monday raised critical questions regarding President Bola Tinubu’s continued request for foreign loans, even as key revenue-generating agencies of the Federal Government reported surpassing their 2024 fiscal targets.
During an interactive session with the National Assembly’s joint committees on Finance, Budget, and National Planning, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, disclosed that the Federal Government had already exceeded its education tax target for the year by a wide margin. The N70bn target for education tax was easily surpassed, with a total of N1.5tn generated by the end of September.
Adedeji also revealed that the Federal Government had generated N5.7tn from Company Income Tax, exceeding the target of N4tn. Overall, the agencies have helped generate a total of N18.5tn out of the N19.4tn projected for the 2024 fiscal year.
Similarly, Mele Kyari, Group CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), announced that the company had already exceeded its N12.3tn revenue target for the year, with N13.1tn generated. He projected that NNPCL would remit N23.7tn to the Federation Account in 2025.
Meanwhile, Bashir Adeniyi, Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), reported that as of September 30, Customs had collected N5.35tn, surpassing its N5.09tn target for the entire year. Adeniyi further projected N6.3tn in revenues for 2025.
Despite these significant revenue surpluses, members of the joint committee expressed surprise that the government was still seeking foreign loans. Senator Adamu Aliero (PDP, Kebbi Central) questioned why the Federal Government continued borrowing when agencies were already exceeding their revenue targets.
In response, FIRS boss Adedeji explained that borrowing was an integral part of the Federal Government’s approved budgetary plan. He emphasized that the legislature had approved the borrowing component of the 2024 budget, despite the impressive revenue performance.
Senator Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, reiterated that borrowing was necessary to address the N9.7tn fiscal deficit in the 2024 budget and to fund long-term development goals, including Nigeria’s Vision 2050, which targets a GDP per capita of $33,000.
In a related issue, the Nigeria Immigration Service faced scrutiny over its controversial public-private partnership on passport production.
The arrangement, which allocates 70% of proceeds to a consultancy firm, was deemed highly unfavorable to the government, leading Senator Sani Musa to order a review of the partnership.
This exchange highlighted ongoing concerns in the National Assembly regarding the government’s fiscal policies, with lawmakers urging greater transparency and accountability in the management of public funds.
