The National Assembly has raised concerns over President Bola Tinubu’s continued request for loans, despite revenue-generating agencies of the Federal Government reporting significant surpluses in their revenue collections for the 2024 fiscal year.
During an interactive session with the National Assembly’s joint Committees on Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zacch Adedeji, Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), revealed that the agency had surpassed its revenue targets for the year. Adedeji reported that FIRS had generated N1.5 trillion in education tax, significantly exceeding the N70 billion target, and had also collected N5.7 trillion in Company Income Tax, surpassing the N4 trillion target. By the end of September 2024, FIRS had already collected N18.5 trillion out of the N19.4 trillion targeted for the year, indicating that the final figure will exceed the target.
In addition, Mele Kyari, Group CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), reported that the company had already generated N13.1 trillion, exceeding the projected N12.3 trillion for 2024. Kyari projected that NNPCL would contribute N23.7 trillion to the Federation Account in 2025. The Nigeria Customs Service, led by Comptroller-General Bashir Adeniyi, also reported a revenue collection of N5.35 trillion by September 30, 2024, surpassing the N5.09 trillion target for the year.
Despite these significant revenue surpluses, members of the National Assembly’s joint committees expressed concern over the government’s continued request for foreign loans. Senator Adamu Aliero (PDP, Kebbi Central) questioned why the government is seeking loans when agencies are surpassing their revenue targets.
In response, Adedeji explained that borrowing is an integral part of the Appropriation Act and that the National Assembly had already approved borrowing as part of the budget. He clarified that surpassing revenue targets does not negate the need for borrowing to fund the federal budget’s deficit, which stands at N9.7 trillion.
Senator Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, also defended the borrowing strategy, emphasizing that the N35.5 trillion budget for 2024 was designed to fund long-term development plans, including the country’s GDP per capita goal of $33,000 by 2050.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, echoed similar sentiments, stating that borrowing remains essential to properly fund the budget, despite the positive revenue performance.
Meanwhile, the Immigration Service faced scrutiny over its controversial Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement for passport production, which allows a consultancy firm to retain 70% of the proceeds while the government receives only 30%. Senator Sani Musa, Chairman of the committee, expressed outrage over the deal and demanded that the Immigration Service provide all relevant documents for review, stating that the arrangement must be revised or canceled to prevent Nigerians from being exploited.
