Non-oil Will Fetch 80% Of Nigeria’s Revenue – Fowler

The Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr Babatunde Fowler, has said that Nigeria will earn at least 80 per cent of its revenues from the non-oil sector in the next three years.

According to a statement from the FIRS on Tuesday, Fowler said this at the Nigeria-Canada Investment Summit in Abuja.

He noted that the non-oil sector’s contribution to the Nigerian economy had risen to 60 per cent by November 2019 from 54 per cent in December 2018.

The FIRS boss explained that the continuous drop in oil prices was a sign that attention should be focused on the non-oil sector of the economy, which he said was more sustainable.

He said, “We are moving from oil dependent to non-oil dependent economy. We believe that in the next three years, the non-oil sector is going to contribute at least 80 per cent of the total revenue.

“You may ask where that is going to come from. It is going to come from agriculture.”

He said the FIRS had generated N25.6bn between January and October this year through the Value Added Tax automated system.

He put VAT collection in the Cable TV sector at N5.1bn within the same period.

He also said through the deduction of VAT and Withholding Tax from state governments’ contract, the FIRS had been able to generate about N13bn.

He noted that the deployment of online solutions was making tax administration more efficient, transparent and convenient.

On tax incentives, Fowler said the number of reliefs given to taxpayers in the country was huge compared to what obtained in other countries.

“Sometimes when I look at these tax incentives and reliefs, I feel that Nigeria is the Father Christmas. But that is necessary for the growth of the economy because they attract investors,” the FIRS boss said.

He urged foreign investors to consider Nigeria as their first option because of attractive tax incentives and reliefs.