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FG Generates N1.1trn Revenue From MDAs In 11 Months

The Federal Government on Wednesday said it generated over N1.1trn through Independent Revenue from its Ministries, Departments and Agencies between January and November last year.

The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze gave the figure at the public presentation of the 2022 budget.

The 2022 budget was signed into law on December 31 last year by President Muhammadu Buhari.

About 122 agencies are required to pay the operating surpluses into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federal Government based on the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007.

The Act requires government agencies to remit 80 per cent of their annual operating surpluses to the CRF.

The operating surplus is made up of revenues accruing to government agencies above what they are approved to spend at the beginning of the budget year.

Some of these agencies are the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Ports Authority, and Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria. Nigeria Postal Service,  Nigeria Communication Commission,  National Inland Water Ways Authority, and National Information Technology and Development Agency.

There is also the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency, National Examination Council,  Nigeria Television Authority,  Nigeria Shippers Council, National Health Insurance Scheme, National Pension Commission, Corporate Affairs Commission and Standard Organization of Nigeria among others.

But over the years, many of these agencies have been underpaying revenue into the coffers of government.

But speaking on the performance, the DG Budget stated that the Federal Government is focusing on generating more revenue from these agencies to finance it’s operations.

He said that based on analysis, there government has the ability to generate more revenue from these MDAs.

Akabueze said the Federal Government will continue to strengthen it’s control mechanism to make the revenue process more transparent and inclusive.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed said that Federal Government is to spend N3.61trn servicing Nigeria’s debt burden in the 2022 fiscal period.

The Minister said that the N3.61trn to be used to service the nation’s debt represents about 34 per cent of the 2022 projected revenue of the Federal Government.

Nigeria is experiencing a worsening debt level as the country’s indebtedness rose by N2.5trn between July to September last year.

The country’s debt burden as revealed by the Debt Management Office has now hit a record N38trn or $92.626bn as of the end of September 30, 2021.

In the second quarter of 2020, Nigeria’s debt was N35.4trn.

The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was recently under attack on the country’s rising debt levels

Nigeria’s debt service to Gross Domestic Product ratio had hit 73 per cent based on figures released by the Finance Minister in October.

But despite the fact that Nigeria’s debt to GDP ratio is one of the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa, Ahmed still maintained on Wednesday that the country’s debt is still within sustainable limit.

She said that government borrowings are done for capital project execution and that the government has the ability to meet it’s obligations to creditors.

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