Some revenue-generating agencies have pledged to meet and even surpass their revenue projections as contained in the 2024 budget proposal.
The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) made the pledge when their chief executives appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations on the 2024 budget estimates.
President Bola Tinubu, last month, presented a N27.5 trillion budget to the joint session of the National Assembly. The budget contained a projected revenue of N18 trillion.
The chairman of the committee, Abubakar Bichi (APC, Kano), said government-owned enterprises (GOEs) should be able to generate more revenue than what is projected in the budget proposal.
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Bichi said the committee was prioritising revenue generation to support the implementation of projects in the budget.
The Comptroller General of Customs, Wale Adeniyi, told the lawmakers that his agency has a projected revenue of N5 trillion for 2024.
He, however, said NSC could generate an additional N1 trillion if the government lifts the suspension of duty on single-use plastic and increases the duty on alcohol and tobacco.
“If we can review the concession that we are going to grant in 2024, we might get there,” he said while responding to questions on the possibility of increasing the customs revenue target.
Also, the Executive Secretary of NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, in his presentation, said the commission is projecting a revenue of N5.6 trillion for 2024.
He said the commission was seeking to increase Nigeria’s daily oil production by 300,000 barrels.
“We have the potential to increase the current production based on the field development plans we already have.
“We are committed to achieving and surpassing the target. In terms of figure, the N5.6 trillion, we are committed to surpassing it and going toward N6 trillion,” he said.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Aminu Maida, said his commission was eyeing N350 billion in revenue for the year 2024.
Maida explained that the NCC majorly generates money from spectrum licensing and annual operating levy.
Meanwhile, the House Committee on Finance has faulted the budget presentation by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) over lack of details.
The chairman of the committee, James Faleke (APC, Lagos) directed the Chief Executive Officer of MOFI, Dr Armstrong Takang, to go back and prepare the full details of the agency’s budget and return on Thursday.
