News
Reps increase Customs’ revenue target to N1.6tr
The House of Representatives yesterday increased the revenue target of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) from N1.4 trillion to N1.6 trillion as expected revenue for the 2021 fiscal year.
The House also approved about N257, 183, 671, 694. 71 as budget for the NCS for this year and another N216, 646, 579, 231. 00 as budget for the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for the same period.
The House also approved the request from the president to borrow about $1.5 billion and Euro 995 million to finance projects under the 2021 budget.
Presenting the report of the House Committee on Customs and Excise for consideration on the floor of the House, Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Leke Abejide said the Committee consider initial target of ¦ N1.465 trillion given to the service as inadequate and as such increase it to N l.678 trillion based on the fact that the target for 2021 Fiscal year is less than N 1.562 trillion collected in by the service in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic and He said the committee also considered the expanded excisable item to include carbonated drinks, reduction of levy on new vehicles and devaluation of naira that will increase volume of money collected in naira term during the year.
Also approved by the House was the seven per cent cost of collection for 2021 of N111,573,991,091.00.
They also approved that the service should keep two per cent of Value Added Tax (VAT) collected on behalf of the FIRS to be retained by the Customs and another N47,007,935,827.20 intervention Fund from the Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS).
The Customs budget include Personnel Cost of N99,719,722,681.71, Overhead Cost of N19,530,769,000.00 and Capital expenditure N137,933,270,013.00.
The House asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to, as matter of urgency, procure the four scanners for the NCS, the best scanners manufactures either from Germany or America but not China made scanners.
Also considering the report of the House Committee on Finance, the House approved N216, 646, 579, 231. 00 as budget for the FIRS for 2021.
The budget is made up of N107, 521, 496, 984. 00 for Personnel Cost, N56, 469, 218, 415 .00 for Over Head Cost, and N52, 655, 863, 832. 00 for Capital Project.
The House at plenary also approved request from the President for approval to borrow $1,500,000,000 and Euro 995,000,000.00 to Finance the Priority Projects of the Federal Government.
The Senate had earlier approved the request for the loan.
News
Yahaya Bello reports to EFCC office with lawyers
Yahaya Bello reports to EFCC office with lawyers
A former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, on Tuesday visited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to honour another invitation extended to him over alleged misappropriation of funds.
Bello went to the anti-graft office with his lawyers in the morning.
The ex-Kogi governor reportedly drove himself to the EFCC’s office in a black Toyota Hilux van with some lawyers.
He was said to have been taken by some operatives of the agency and are currently being grilled.
This is coming after the Supreme Court judgment which dismissed a suit brought by some state governments challenging the constitutionality of the agency.
The EFCC at the last hearing on November 14, sought the adjournment till November 27 in the fresh case it instituted against Bello.
It stated that the 30-day window was still running for the summons earlier issued.
News
Just in: Ebonyi governor suspends two commissioners, Perm Sec for misconduct
Just in: Ebonyi governor suspends two commissioners, Perm Sec for misconduct
Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru has announced the immediate suspension of two commissioners with a permanent secretary among others for gross misconduct.
Those suspended are the Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development Francis Ori, and the Commissioner for Health, Moses Ekuma, with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health.
The suspension followed an incident on Saturday night, when the governor reportedly visited the Ministry of Health’s premises and was said to have found six officials diverting government materials.
Others suspended for three months are the Executive Secretaries of the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency and the Ebonyi State Health Insurance Agency
The suspension order was announced by the state Commissioner for Information, Jude Okpor, who cited alleged misconduct and dereliction of duties as the reasons for the disciplinary actions.
Okpor made the disclosure on Tuesday during a press briefing on the outcomes of the State Executive Council meeting held on Monday at the New Government House in Abakaliki, the state capital.
“Following cases of gross misconduct and dereliction of duties by some government officials and matters related thereto, the Chairman of Council directed the indefinite suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development and three months suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Health, respectively
“In view of the development, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Primary Health was directed to take charge of the ministry in the absence of the suspended commissioner.
Governor Nwifuru directed the suspended government officials to hand over all government properties in their possession including vehicles to the Secretary to the State Government.
News
Why we’re borrowing despite surplus revenues – FG
Why we’re borrowing despite surplus revenues – FG
The Federal Government has defended its decision to borrow to address budget deficits, despite surpassing revenue targets in 2024.
Finance Minister Wale Edun and Budget Minister Atiku Bagudu clarified this position during a session with the National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Finance, Budget, and National Planning. The meeting focused on the 2025–2027 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).
Last week, the National Assembly approved President Bola Tinubu’s $2.2 billion loan request to fund the N9.7 trillion deficit in the 2024 budget partially.
During the session, key agency heads, including Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) CEO Mele Kyari, Customs Comptroller-General Bashir Adeniyi, and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Chairman Zacch Adedeji, presented their revenue reports.
The agencies reported exceeding their 2024 targets.
- Customs Service: Generated ₦5.352 trillion by September 30, surpassing its ₦5.09 trillion target for the year. For 2025, the agency projects ₦6.3 trillion, with a 10% increase planned for 2026.
- NNPCL: Achieved ₦13.1 trillion in revenue, exceeding the ₦12.3 trillion projection for 2024. Kyari announced a ₦23.7 trillion revenue target for 2025.
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- FIRS: Surpassed multiple tax collection goals, including ₦5.7 trillion from company income tax against a ₦4 trillion target. Education tax collections also exceeded expectations, reaching ₦1.5 trillion compared to a ₦70 billion target.
Overall, ₦18.5 trillion of the ₦19.4 trillion 2024 revenue target had been achieved by September, indicating the goal will be exceeded by year-end.
Despite these surpluses, the government insists borrowing remains essential to cover budget gaps and support vulnerable populations.
Bagudu explained, “Even with agencies exceeding revenue targets, borrowing is necessary to address deficits and boost productivity, particularly for the poorest. This aligns with Agenda 2050, which aims for a GDP per capita of $33,000.”
Edun also reiterated that loans were critical for adequately funding the budget.
The committee, led by Senator Sani Musa, questioned the rationale behind the borrowing and demanded further transparency. The Immigration Service was specifically asked to provide documents regarding an “unacceptable PPP arrangement” before the end of the week.
The session underscored the government’s balancing act between increased revenues and fiscal challenges requiring external borrowing.
Why we’re borrowing despite surplus revenues – FG
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