The Nigerian Government is struggling to execute the 2018 budget due to lack of funds even as its budgeted Independent Revenue has continually under-performed. Performance was a mere 36% by the end of Q3 2018.
The Director General of the Budget Office, Mr. Ben Akabueze, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja during a meeting with the Chief Executive Officers of various state-owned enterprises.
According to Mr Akabueze, revenue not remitted by Federal Government organizations is about N2.81 trillion.
He revealed that over the years, many state-owned enterprises have been underpaying revenue into the coffers of the government. This is why he summoned the meeting of the heads of the affected agencies to discuss how to address the problem.
Note that the Fiscal Responsibility Act Act requires government agencies to remit 80% of their operating surplus to the Consolidated Revenue Fund account.
Here are the underpaying agencies
Some of the agencies failing to remit include:
- Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency with an outstanding remittance of N1.343 trillion,
- Central Bank of Nigeria with N801 billion,
- Nigerian Ports Authority with N192.102 billion,
- Nigeria Communications Commission with N30.853 billion,
- Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria with N51.991 billion and some others.
Akabueze expressed disappointment in GOE’s
Speaking at the event in Abuja yesterday, the D-G described the revenue performance for some of the agencies as “mostly insignificant”. For instance, he said that between 2015 and August 2018, out of the cumulative budgeted revenue of N3.65 trillion, the actual revenue received during the period was just N1.27 trillion. He said the country was fighting a deficit in revenue which is worsened by the failure of Federal Government Organizations to remit about N2.810 trillion.
Akabueze said, “The continuous underperformance of the Government-Owned Enterprises has made it difficult to achieve enhanced domestic revenue mobilization from operating surpluses of the GOEs”. He said the President had mandated that urgent corrective action be taken.
Revenue Evaluation
Akabueze said, “Out of the total projected sum of N807.57 billion independent revenues in 2017, only N216.66 billion representing 26.8 per cent performance, was remitted by GOE’s and revenue-generating Ministries, Departments and Agencies”.
He also said that Nigeria is facing significant medium-term fiscal challenges and to achieve sustainability required bold, decisive and urgent action, adding that the budget performance between January and September had shown clearly that the country had a serious revenue challenge and that key reforms would be implemented with increased vigor to improve revenue collection and expenditure management.
