Every Kobo of Nigeria’s Revenue will Count Under Tinubu, Says Aide
The Special Adviser to the President on Revenue, Zacch Adedeji, has said
the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will ensure that every kobo of the nation’s revenue counts.
He said this at a one-day hybrid sensitisation workshop on the published “Guidelines for Private Sector Response to Illicit Financial Flow (IFF) Vulnerabilities in Nigeria” organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Adedeji stated that the President believes in fiscal discipline and would ensure judicious utilisation of the country’s revenue and resources.
“The President believes in fiscal discipline which rests on the accurate prediction of revenue. If the government can’t count your money, the government can’t allocate it and if the government can’t allocate it, it can’t manage it. The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will make every kobo of our revenue count,” he said.
The special adviser pledged that the government would strengthen the country’s fight against illicit financial flows (IFFs).
He noted that the IFFs had significantly eroded domestic revenues and hampered government’s efforts to mobilise resources, thereby threatening economic stability and sustainable development.
“In Nigeria and across the African continent, we continue to suffer various forms of IFFs, including tax evasion and other harmful tax practices, the illegal export of foreign exchange, abusive transfer pricing, trade mispricing, mis-invoicing of services, illegal exploitation and under-invoicing of natural resources, organised crimes, and corruption,” he added.
He emphasised that stemming illicit financial flows would address its negative impact on global development agenda as well as governance challenge.
The special adviser commended the Chairman of the ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, for the successes so far recorded by the anti-corruption agency in the fight against IFFs.
According to him, “Some level of progress and successes have so far been recorded in the fight against IFFs through the concerted efforts of the ICPC’s sensitisation and capacity building of major players in the various sectors of the economy as well as citizenry on the menace of IFFs.
“These efforts have yielded great results and benefits as the nation through these robust engagements has plugged identified leakages/loopholes that enable IFFs by the relevant circulars issued by the Federal Government,” he stated.
He advised the private sector stakeholders and operators at the sensitisation workshop to key into the government’s efforts to tackle IFFs.
“The published guidelines will set a new trajectory in the fight against IFFs in the Private Sector, thereby putting Nigeria at the forefront of African countries to achieve this great feat.
“The purpose of the published Guidelines is to further assist, guide and strengthen the private sector operators in curbing IFFs. The aim of this publication is to set the path for more interventions in the fight against IFFs and IFF-related activities,” Adedeji said.
