N’Assembly questions Tinubu loan request as Customs, FIRS surpass revenue targets

The National Assembly, on Monday, questioned President Bola Tinubu’s request for loan requests as some revenue-generating agencies of the Federal Government disclosed that they had already surpassed their budgetary revenue target for 2024.

The Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji,  said the Federal Government generated N1.5tn in education tax, a substantial amount above it N70bn target.

Adedeji made this known on Monday during an interactive session with the National Assembly’s joint  Committees on Finance, Budget and National Planning on 2025-2027 Medium Term Expenditure Frame Work and Fiscal Strategy Paper.

The revenue generating agencies, in their separate presentations before the joint committees on 2024 budget performance and revenue projections for N49.7tn 2025 budget, made excess revenue target submissions in the 2024 fiscal year.

This revelation of education tax profit came to the fore amidst lamentations on recent school fee hike across the board.

According to Adedeji, on Company Income Tax, N4tn was targeted but N5.7tn has been realised now.

“On Education tax, while N70bn was targeted, a total of N1.5tn has been realised.

“All in all, out of N19.4tn targeted for 2024 fiscal year, N18.5tn was realised as of the end of September, which clearly shows that the target, will be far exceeded by the end of the year,” he boasted.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari,  in his own presentation, said the company exceded the N12.3tn revenue projected for 2024 by already raking in N13.1tn.

He said, “For the 2025 fiscal year, N23.7tn is projected by the NNPCL to be remitted into the Federation Account.”

In his own presentation, the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adeniyi, stated that as of September 30, Customs had raked in N5.35tn revenue, which is above N5.09tn targeted for the entire 2024 fiscal year.

He added that N6.3tn was targeted as projected revenue for 2025, 10% increase of which would be the revenue target for 2026 and an additional 10% increase for the 2027 fiscal year.

Amazed by submissions of the revenue-generating agencies, members of the Senator Sani Musa-led joint committees took them up on why the Federal Government is still seeking foreign loans despite the high increase of Internally Generated Revenues.

Specifically, Senator Adamu Aliero (PDP Kebbi Central), who first asked the question said, “What is the Federal Government doing with excess revenues generated  by the various agencies in view of its unending request for foreign loan approval?”

Responding, the FIRS boss said loans being requested by the executive were already part of the Appropriation Act.

Adedeji said, “Borrowing is part of what has been approved by the National Assembly for the Federal Government, meaning that the executive borrows based on approval of the legislature.

“The fact that we meet revenue targets and even surpassed them as revenue-generating agencies does not mean that the borrowing component of an appropriation law, passed by the National Assembly, should not be activated,” he said.

Giving a similar reason, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, said the federal lawmakers should not forget that the borrowing plans contained in the N35.5tn 2024 budget were primarily meant to fund the deficit which is N9.7tn.

“Despite revenue targets surpassing by some of the revenue-generating agencies, the government still needs to borrow for proper funding of the budget, particularly in the area of deficit and productivity for the poorest and most vulnerable.

“We have a long-term development perspective plan agenda 2050 aiming at GDP per capita of $33,000,” he explained.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, also explained to the federal lawmakers that borrowing was still needed for proper funding of the budget despite increased revenues made by some agencies.

However, the Immigration Service of Nigeria ran into troubled waters at the interactive session over highly lopsided Private Public Partnership arrangements on passport production, which gave consultancy firm 70% of the proceeds and the government 30%.

The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Sani Musa, ordered Immigration to present all the documents on the unacceptable Public Private Partners arrangement to the committee before the end of the week.

“The so-called PPP arrangement must be reviewed or cancelled because Nigeria and Nigerians are seriously being short-changed, “ he fumed.