FG Tackling Challenges Impeding Revenue Mobilisation In Nigeria -Edun
By Sunday Etuka, Abuja
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, has affirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to addressing the challenges hindering robust revenue generation in the country.
Mr. Edun spoke on Monday at the 5th National Treasury Workshop, with a theme: “Nigeria’s Revenue Challenges and the Way Forward: Exploring Non-Oil Alternatives”, held at Chida Hotel in Abuja, underscoring the need to explore non-oil revenue sources to finance the 2025 budget deficit of over 13trillion.
The Workshop which was organised by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federal (OAGF), is an annual event where seasoned technocrats are invited to brainstorm on salient issues confronting the nation’s economy with a view to proffering workable solutions in order to move the country forward.
Declaring the workshop open, the Minister noted that while the potential of non-oil revenue sources is evident, several challenges impede their full exploitation.
He highlighted some of them to include, Poor infrastructure and high cost of doing business, Bureaucratic bottlenecks and regulatory inefficiencies, Insecurity and its impact on investment confidence, and Low tax compliance and widespread revenue leakages.
He, however, informed that the government is already taking bold steps to tackle these issues through reforms in public financial management, digitalization of revenue collection, and strengthening of tax administration.
Mr. Edun, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya, stressed that several non-oil sectors have demonstrated strong potentials for revenue generation, job creation, and economic transformation, adding that the time was ripe to explore these aggressively, listing few critical areas such as: Agriculture and Agro-Processing, Solid Minerals and Mining, Manufacturing and Industrialization, Tourism and Hospitality, The Digital Economy and ICT, Tax Reforms and Compliance, and others.
Speaking on the significance of the workshop, the Minister said the workshop was not just an annual event, but a strategic platform for fostering collaborations, exchange of ideas, and expanding knowledge on key strategies for the growth and stability of the economy, through enhanced revenue performance and management.
He emphasized the urgent need to rethink the nation’s revenue generation strategies, especially in the light of the volatile nature of oil revenues which has long been the backbone of the economy but recently facing a downturn.
“The recent global shifts in energy policies, declining oil demand and fluctuating crude prices have jointly made it abundantly clear that we cannot afford to be overly dependent on oil revenues. We must, therefore, embrace a diversified economic approach that taps into the immense potential of non-oil sectors such as agriculture, solid minerals, manufacturing, tourism, digital economy and creative industries.
“Nigeria is blessed with abundant natural and human resources that remain largely untapped. The question before us today is: how can we harness these resources effectively to drive sustainable economic growth and development? This workshop seeks to provide actionable answers to this question by fostering robust discussions among key stakeholders in the financial and economic landscape,” he said.
On the role of stakeholders in strengthening revenue generation, Edun said “To ensure the success of these initiatives, collaboration among all stakeholders is essential. The role of the private sector in complementing government efforts cannot be overemphasized. Accountability and transparency in public financial management remain paramount in building trust and attracting investment.”
While commending the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation for its unwavering efforts in organizing the workshop, the Minister expressed confidence that the workshop would provide valuable insights and strategies for repositioning Nigeria’s revenue framework in line with global best practices.
Earlier, in her Opening Remarks, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Dr. Oluwatonyin Madein, said the workshop was orgainised for stakeholders to brainstorm and come up with robust and implementable communique capable of changing the current revenue challenges faced by the country.
She explained that even though the event is a yearly occasion, the one preceding this took place some years back in November 2021 with the theme Covid-19 and the Global Economy: Implications on the Nigerian National Treasury in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom state, urging the Local Organizing Committee to ensure that the annual calendar is sustained.
Dr. Madein, disclosed that the theme for this year’s edition was apt considering the state of the economy owing to a multiplicity of factors ranging from the exchange rate volatility, low revenue performance, rising costs, amongst others, which have complicated fiscal operations in the last few years.
“The theme of the workshop has been packaged in five (5) lead papers namely: Nigeria’s Revenue Challenges and the Urgency for Economic Diversification; Tax Reform and Revenue Mobilization: Expanding Nigeria’s Tax Base and Tax Net; Diversifying Nigeria’s Economy through Effective Budgeting: Maximizing the Non-Oil Sectors for Sustainable Growth and Development; Rethinking Nigeria’s Revenue Allocation Formula: Implications for Fiscal Federalism and Subnational Development; Recent Updates on PFM Reforms and Their Impact on Fiscal Management: IPSAS, TSA, and the Cash Management Revolution,” she said, noting that these papers are to be presented by distinguished experts drawn from both the private and public sectors of the economy as well as the academia.
The event also has in attendance, the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties, Federal Ministry of Finance, Raymond Omachi, the Audit-General of the Federation, Shaakaa Kanyitor Chira, Chairman, Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Mr. Victor Muruako, and Commissioners of Finance from the 36 states of the federation.
