Lagos Targets N20bn Monthly Internally Generated Revenue

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Lagos Targets N20bn Monthly Internally Generated Revenue

The Lagos State Government has disclosed that its target is to raise its monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from N18 billion to N20 billion.

The Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Lagos State, Mr. Ben Akabueze, said this while delivering a keynote address at a two-day training programme on planning and budgeting for officials of local government areas (LGAs) in the state at the weekend.

According to him, the state government would continue to churn out policies to achieve the goal.
Akabueze, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the state’s Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Mr. Bayo Sodade, urged local government administrators to also develop strategies to grow their IGR so as to be self-sustainable.

“As at 1999, the IGR of Lagos state was about N500 million per month, but today, it is N18 billion per month and we are working towards pushing it to N20 billion. Without determination and our desire not to be too dependent on allocations from the federation account, that will not have happened,” he added.

Speaking to the local government officials, he said: “If you want to plan your economy, you have to make sure that your IGR is strong to the extent that whatever happens at the federal level, you will be self-sustainable at the local government level.

“That is why I am not happy when those at the local government level complain that what they get from the federal and states are poor. We should always develop our IGR. As a result of lack of political will, the local governments are not generating enough revenues as expected.”

Earlier, the Team Leader, State Accountability and Voice Initiative (SAVI), Mr. Felix Obanubi, said the programme was aimed at cascading the Public Finance Management (PFM) reform at the states, down to the third tier of government, in order to ensure a more effective service delivery and also to improve the implementation of the Lagos State Development Plan.

“High performance management is the combination of people, processes, skills and infrastructure that allows agencies makes significant strides in improving their performance.
“In public institutions like the LGAs, the closest to the people, performance deals with increasing public value produced by public sector organisations in the short and long term,” he declared.

On his part, the Team Leader, State Partnership for Accountability, Responsiveness and Capability (SPARC), Mr. Austin Ndiokwelu, said one of the targets of the state was to increase transparency in the fiscal relationship between the state and local governments.

Crude Oil Theft Another Face Of Terrorism — Alison-Madueke

Economic Confidential
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The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has declared that the grave phenomenon of oil theft and its global support system represents another face of terrorism which has continued to remain a clog in the wheel of Nigeria’s economic growth trajectory.

She stated this in London recently while delivering the keynote address at the Powerlist 2014, organised by the UK- based Power List Magazine, where she was also listed as one of the 25 Africans who are transforming the continent.

In her presentation entitled: “The Strengths and Obligations of the African Diaspora,” the minister explained that the ugly episode of oil theft has continued to thwart efforts at sustained economic growth because the effect of the oil theft scourge reverberates across the entire spectrum of the Nigerian economy.

According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), about $2.23 billion (N191 billion) revenue that should have accrued to the federal government from oil proceeds was lost to the activities of crude oil thieves in the first quarter (1Q) 2013, with an estimated $6 billion lost annually to the menace.

“The grave phenomenon of oil theft and its global support system represents another face of terrorism counteracting our efforts at sustaining the trajectory of our high-growth economy, the stability of our society, and the enhancement and wellbeing of our people,’’ the minister said, adding that effort at combating the menace locally was made more complicated because of the international slant to the crime.

“Theft of this magnitude is not only highly technical, but it is also an international-level crime.  It is aided and abetted by syndicates outside of Africa who are the patrons and merchant-partners of the oil thieves. This crime against Nigeria must be resisted, as we simultaneously deploy in-country resources to fight this menace,’’ she said.

While calling on the global community to advocate strongly against crude oil theft Alison-Madueke pointed out that it “perpetuates criminality, defrauds economies and discourages investment.  This is a crime that threatens not only Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, but also threatens the security of the Gulf of Guinea, and by extension threatens the global economic order.’’

She however, added that despite the scourge of crude theft, the Nigerian oil and gas industry has been placed on the path of growth engendered by the transformation agenda of the present administration, noting particularly the Nigerian Content Act, signed into law in 2010 by President  Goodluck Jonathan.

 

Reps Demand Full Disclosure Of Federation Account

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Reps Demand Full Disclosure Of Federation Account

The House of Representatives yesterday called on the Federal Government for full disclosure of the status of the Federation Account and the economic situation of the country.

The sponsor of the motion, Bimbo Daramola (APC, Ekiti), said he is disturbed by the lack of information relating to the actual amount of monies in the Federation Account said that the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in section 126(1) provides that the federation shallmaintain a special account to be called the “Federation Account” into which shall be paid all revenues collected by the Government of the federation.

Rep. Daramola noted that in section 162(3) that any amount standing to the credit of Federation Account shall be distributed among the Federal and State Governments and the Local Government Councils on each state on such terms and manner as prescribed by the National Assembly.

He further noted that section 162(4) states that any amount standing to the credit of the in the Federation Account shall be distributed among states on such terms and in such manner as maybe prescribed by the National Assembly.

In his argument, Rep Daramola told the Honorable House that the benchmark in the 2013 appropriation was $79 per barrel and to date oil sales has not fallen below $100 per barrel and wondered why in the past three to four months the nation has been regaled with diatribes between the Minister of Finance and State Governors over partial release of the amount due to the states.

Lamenting, Daramola said that “some State Governments are already unable to meet their statutory responsibilities such as payment of salaries, thereby inflicting pains on the people and that despite profuse reassurance from the honorable minister of finance that the economy is growing and the government is meeting all its obligations as at when due.

In his resolution, he mandated the committees on Finance, Appropriation, Loans and Aids to conduct a one day public hearing where the Minister for Finance, Heads of Revenue Agencies, DMO and related organizations to appear and present to Nigerians the full status of the state of account of the country.

 

Group Urges FG to Tackle Multiple Taxation

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Group Urges FG to Tackle Multiple Taxation

The Tax Payers’ Association of Nigeria (TAPAN) has called on the federal government to urgently harmonise taxes and levies across the country so as to stimulate economic growth.

TAPAN, which commended the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, for her position on the effects of multiple taxation on the economy, also decried the cumbersome nature of tax filling processes faced by tax payers.

Okonjo-Iweala had on Monday, called for the streamlining of the collection of taxes in the country. She also expressed dismay that government spent a lot of resources administering the collection of taxes and levies.

“This is a waste of capital that could be reinvested in these businesses to grow them and create more jobs for our economy. By streamlining and harmonising taxes across the federation, we would increase Nigeria’s productive potential,” she had said.

According to her, the issue of multiple taxation was one which had been on the front burner for many years in Nigeria had remained unabated.
Thus, a statement from TAPAN yesterday, quoted its Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), Mr. Valentine Nzewkwe, and President, Mr. Philip Ilokhulo, to have said unless the minister’s advice was heeded, the trend could have adverse effects on businesses and the economy.

The association, which also disclosed plans to address the media at the weekend said it was concerned about multiple taxation and the use of tax payers’ fund in delivery the dividend of democracy.

The TAPAN while commending the President for the giant strides in the agriculture, works and transport sectors, wondered why some states would have 97 different taxes, levies and charges imposed on businessmen.

According to the Association, “the minister is right; this could kill business and have adverse effect on tax payers”.

It also urged the federal government to also heed the advice of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and review the various taxes and levies on Nigerians business in order to ensure effective diversification of the economy and encourage competition.

It called on the federal government and tax authorities to ensure transparency in the tax regime and make procedure of payment easier for tax payers.

“The tax payers have been at the receiving end of very cumbersome procedure and management and use of what the majority of Nigerian tax payers. We must ensure things change,” it added.

N255m bulletproof cars deal illegal, panel told

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N255m bulletproof cars deal illegal, panel told

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah, breached procurement laws in the purchase of two BMW armoured cars, the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) said yesterday.

At the commencement of the House of Representatives’ public hearing on the purchase of the cars, the agency could not provide authorisation for the deal.

The minister was not at the hearing as she was away in Israel on an official assignment.

The revelations were made by BPP in its response to the committees’s request for correspondences between it and NCAA on the procurement of the two vehicles.

NCAA was also said to have failed to get the consent of the BPP for the transaction in contravention of procurement laws.

Mr. Ayo Aderibigbe, a Deputy Director in the BPP, said there were no correspondences between the two. “We have nothing to forward to the House on this matter; we also have nothing on details and dates on the procurement process, including a certificate of no objection, on the purchase of the vehicles,

“We also have no other relevant documents that could facilitate the process of the Committees’s investigation in the purchase of the two vehicles,” Aderibigbe said.

The BPP spoke on the procurement of such goods, saying approval must be by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) once it is over N100m and not the Ministerial Tenders Board.

The procurement that was approved by the Minister was also in breach of the law as the cost of the two vehicles at N255,159m can only be approved by the FEC.

The agency was also shown to display total disregard for the law with the purchase of the two armoured cars that were removed from the agency’s budget during its 2013 budget defence/presentation at the House of Representatives.

In addition, the aviation agency also breached the 2013 Appropriation Act by exceeding the budgeted amount of N240m to purchase operational vehicles for N403m.

Similarly, while 25 operational vehicles were appropriated for, the agency went ahead to procure 54 vehicles.

The purchase of 54 vehicles instead of the approved 25 cost the agency N643m that would eventually amount to N1,018b, with the instalmental repayment, according to the term of agreement with the bank.

The Director General of NCAA, Captain Fola Akinkuotu, who was unable to provide information on the Oduah car transaction, said the deal was completed before his assumption of office on August 14.

He also said though he received handing over notes from all the directors of the agency, none mentioned the procurement of the two vehicles and when he asked questions about it, no one offered any explanation.

The then Acting Director General, Mr. Joyce Nkemakolom, during whose tenure between April 14 and August 14 the procurement was made, angered the committee by evading questions.

He could not defend how one unit of the armoured car put at N70m in the memorandum sent to the minister was purchased for N127m.

When he was asked if the procurement of the vehicles was correct and in consonance with the Appropriation Act, he said it was a lease finance facility and not an outright purchase.

Nkemakolom failed to cite the relevant sections of the Act to back his claim, but the BPP said the procurement involved government funds.

He also saw no wrong in overshooting the budget, saying the vehicles were property of First Bank that financed the deal.

“As we speak, the vehicles are still under the control of the financing bank and we were given approval for N240m for the procurement in the 2013 budget and with this procedure, we can never, never flap that ceiling,” Nkemakolom said.

The committee said Nkemakolom was lying on oath with documents that showed how NCAA exceeded the number of vehicles approved in the budget with his signature on the document.

He was also shown another document that confirmed the delivery of the vehicles to the Ikeja office of the agency on August 13, 2013.

The Chairman of the Committee, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, said her Committee’s only interest was Nigeria and that in line with the mandate of the House aimed to find out whether the purchase was correct.

She also said the Committee wanted to find out if the purchase was authorised by any Appropriation law, whether NCAA had been complying with the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) on internally generated revenue and whether any minister is entitled to such vehicles under the law.

The committee adjourned its sitting to Tuesday, asking Oduah, the Chairman of Coscharis Motors and the Managing Director of First Bank to appear before it.

The Committee requested NCAA to come along with details of banks where it has accounts as well as six months statement from the banks.

APC: Presidential panel diversionary

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has warned against any attempt by the “unimaginative spin doctors” of the Aviation Ministry to use politics as a cover for the egregious corruption scandal surrounding the illegal purchase of two armoured cars for the Minister of Aviation.
In a statement in Lagos yesterday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said it was “most unconscionable for anyone to blame the supposed opposition to President Jonathan’s re-election in 2015 as the reason for the widespread outcry against the monumental corruption and abuse of office engendered by the scandal.”
It said that the opposition, in particular, “should not be blamed for the justifiable indignation of most Nigerians to the scandal, as Yakubu Dati, who goes by the nebulous title of ‘coordinating spokesperson for the aviation ministry”.
“Don’t blame him. After all, there is a coordinating minister of the economy, a title unknown to the Constitution) tried to do in his winding postulation on the scandal.
‘’What Dati and his co-spin doctors tried to do is to play on President Jonathan’s insecurity as far as 2015 elections are concerned. This is very insulting not only to Nigerians but also to President Jonathan himself, and it will not sell. After all, attempts to blame the opposition for the lingering ASUU strike has also failed. In any case, what is the business of a public servant, who is supposed to be apolitical, about whether a President is re-elected or not?
‘’We in the APC have not joined the fray over the Oduahgate scandal since it broke out because we thought this was a straightforward case of corruption and abuse of office that should be summarily dealt with. But President Jonathan has again failed to live up to expectation, thus allowing all manners of clowns to seek to pull the wool over the eyes of Nigerians in the name of defending the indefensible,’’ the APC said.
The party wondered why President Jonathan will engage in a diversionary and exculpatory strategy of setting up a panel to investigate the scandal, when there are statutory bodies that are supposed to do so.
‘’There is precedence on how to handle such a matter. In case President Jonathan has forgotten, his then boss, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, sacked Adenike Grange and Gabriel Aduku, Minister of Health and Minister of State for Health respectively, for spending part of the ministry’s unspent budget. The Permanent Secretary and other top officials of the ministry were also suspended when the issue broke out. No panel was set up before this action was taken.
‘’While many may argue that President Jonathan is only following ‘due process’ in dealing with the issue, we counter that he is only seeking to buy time while hoping that the issue will die down. The composition of the panel set up by the President itself supports our stand. It is doubtful if any of the members will act against what they perceive to be the ‘interest’ of the President on the issue,’’ it said.
The APC also condemned the arrest of Mr. Dino Melaye and other protesters against the Oduahgate scandal in Abuja, saying the police, by their action, have signalled that they will protect corrupt public officials.
The party said the reasons given by the police, obstruction of traffic and disturbance of public peace, were apparently cooked up to justify their shameful act.
‘’The Nigeria Police must learn to operate in accordance with the best practices around the world. Elsewhere, the police will offer protection to peaceful protests, the type that Mr. Melaye led in Abuja, and ensure that their protests are not hijacked by hoodlums, like the hired pro-Oduah protesters who reportedly attacked those protesting against corruption and abuse of office.
‘’This is not what is expected of a police force that is maintained with taxpayers fund, and all those involved in harassing and arresting the anti-corruption protesters must bow their heads in shame,’’ APC said.

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