Economic Issues
A Take On The President Buhari’s Revenue Philosophy -By Emmanuel Onwubiko
The current president Muhammadu Buhari unveiled what he considers a sustainable economic blueprint which in his words if meticulously implemented and followed through in this his last tenure, is capable of unleashing tremendous national wealth which if equitably re-distributed is capable of jump-starting one hundred million Nigerians out of poverty.
Mind you, that figure of one hundred million was about the same number of our citizens that the world’s poverty clock affirmed that they recently migrated from mere state of poverty to absolute poverty, thus transforming Nigeria negatively to the infamous global poverty capital of the world and by far outstripping India.
It must have been this mindset that quickened the long-delayed inauguration of a professionally competent governing board of the country’s premier revenue mobilization agency- the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission.
President Muhammadu Buhari took politics aside when he frontally charged his newly constituted and inaugurated council of revenue commissioners and the chairman Engineer Elias Mbam to hit the ground running and to work out implementable formula not only for revenue sharing amongst the three tiers of government but to bake bigger national cake by checking all revenue leakages in Nigeria so Nigeria’s road to national wealth and prosperity begins in earnest with the migration of 100 million absolutely poor Nigerians to the high way of wealth and productivity.
No doubt, the arduous tasks for this board is well cut out for them and there is no honeymoon for these sets of Nigerians who come from diverse backgrounds.
The President said it was his pleasure to swear into office, the
Chairman and Commissioners of the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and
Fiscal Commission.
Buhari then reminds them that as a
Commission, the council members are empowered by the Constitution to
among other duties: Monitor the accruals to and disbursement of revenue
from the Federation Account; Review, from time to time, the revenue
allocation formulae and principles in operation and advice government on
the need for any changes; Advise the Federal, State and Local
Governments on fiscal efficiency and methods by which their revenue is
to be increased; Determine remunerations appropriate for
Political/Public Office Holders; Make recommendations and submit
findings by a report thereto to the government of the Federation or of
the State, as the case may be, regarding the formula for the
distribution of the Federation Accounts and the local government
accounts.
They are to also discharge such other functions as may
be conferred on the commission by Constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria, this Act, or any other Act of the National Assembly.
The
President minced no words to tell them that the mandate of the
commission is very wide and has an important role in the country’s
economy. The commission must be fair and just to the three Tiers and
Arms of Government without compromising its core mandate.
He
spoke further: “In my speech on June 12, Democracy Day, I informed
Nigerians that this administration has laid the foundation for
transforming our country and liberating our people from the shackles of
poverty by putting policies and measures to integrate our rural
economies to the national economic grid.”
He opined that one
measure is to extend credit facilities currently available to be able to
encourage and support domestic production of basic goods and reduce our
reliance on imported goods.
In the heading of this piece, I
alluded to the concept of a revenue philosophy of President Muhammadu
Buhari’s administration. The President offered a detailed explanation of
his revenue philosophy when he asserted thus: “I set a target for our
country to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in ten years. This
commitment is to further challenge the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation
and Fiscal Commission to rise to its constitutional responsibilities and
mandate.”
He gave them the charge as follows: “Your appointment
as chairman and members of the Commission was carefully considered
based on your proven track records of hard work and integrity. It is,
therefore, the expectation of Government that you will rapidly and
systematically set to work to address all areas of your mandates in a
businesslike manner. Here I will charge the chairman and honorable
commissioners as to concentrate more on expanding the sources of revenue
to the Federation Account and other non-oil sources including solid
mineral; Use all legal ways and means to strengthen its monitoring
mechanism and block leakages of revenue from the Federations Account.
All relevant laws and regulations on revenue collections and remittances
should be fully complied with and appropriate sanctions visited on
defaulters.
He assured that the government will continue to
provide all the necessary support that will facilitate the achievement
of the agency’s constitutional mandate.
“I, therefore, use
this medium to call on the National Assembly to enact relevant enabling
laws that shall guarantee the Commission the legal ability to ensure
that defaulters of revenue laws are appropriately sanctioned.”
Salutary
as these words sounded, pieces of evidence abound in the last four
years to show that it is easier said than done. There are stark
realities that those who were charged with critical duties of generating
national revenues such as Customs/Immigration; NNPC and even the
Federal Inland Revenue board have become deeply entrenched in corrupt
practices and serial theft of public fund. This new board must shine
their eyes to catch these executive thieves. Another aspect is the poor
regulatory oversight on the remuneration and allowances of public office
holders.
President Muhammadu Buhari I am sure is aware of the
raging controversy near him between his anti-corruption adviser
professor Itse Sagay and the brand new senate president Ahmed Lawan
which centers around the jumbo payments that lawmakers earn per month.
Senator
Lawan must be thinking that 200 million or so Nigerians are bereft of
functional thinking faculties so much so that they may have forgotten
the explosive revelations made not too long ago by senator Shehu Sani
who told the bewildered nation that each senator pockets at least #15
million per month.
So senator Lawan thought he could tie wool of confusion around our eyes by telling us that he earns just #750,000 per month.
The
presidential adviser professor Sagay wouldn’t have any of those
political untruths or poorly packaged and delivered propaganda from the
senate president and he shot back at him to stop lying.
It was
less than two days when this controversy started that the presidency
inaugurated the Elias Mbam – led Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and
Fiscal commission who initially were appointed over a year ago.
Another
salient development is the effort been spearheaded by Buhari to
introduce fiscal autonomy in the states and local councils of Nigeria.
All, these critical issues couldn’t have evolved at the right time than
now with the commencement of work by new board at the Revenue
Commission.
It is right to state that the philosophy of
president Buhari’s revenue drive is centered around the tripartite
thematic concepts of baking bigger national cake, stopping leakages of
revenues and granting appropriate fiscal autonomy to states and local
council administrations. These three issues are mutually and profoundly
beneficial in the long run.
The straight forward presidential
charge to the new board to block revenue leakages can be better
understood if we read through a researched paper by Casmir Anyanwu who
in the year 2011 found that following disturbing trends in the revenue
generation status of the federation.
“The manner of management
of revenues collected by certain Government Miniseries; Departments and
Agencies has been a source of contention and appears to be offensive to
the practices of section 162(1) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria. It provides that “The Federation shall maintain a
special account to be called “the Federation Account” into which shall
be paid all revenues collected by the Government of the Federation,
except the proceeds from the personal income tax of the personnel of the
armed forces of the Federation, the Nigeria Police Force, the Ministry
or department of government charged with responsibility for Foreign
Affairs and the residents of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja”.
He
wrote: “Whereas all revenues are expected to be paid into the
Federation Account, some MDAs have succeeded in enacting backup laws
with retention clauses to enable them to collect and use revenues for
their operation and remitting only balances to the Federation Account or
as operating surplus to the Federal Ministry of Finance as Federal
Government Independent Revenue.”
Typical examples of such
parastatals and agencies are NNPC, NPA, NIMSA, Shippers Council etc.
under this scenario, certain basic questions need to be asked. There is
the need for RMAFC to carry out a thorough evaluation of these practices
through the dictates of the law to ensure that revenue accruals into
the Federation Account are improved. I subscribe to this charge
absolutely.
The last session of the national assembly spent
quality times to investigate the NNPC which has become a cesspool of
corruption.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation it
would be recalled has persistently been enmeshed in one controversy
after another and the last one was over an alleged oil deal in excess of
N91tn that may have been lost by the country.
In the deal, which was a subject of investigation by the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), a Chinese firm, Hungbohai Petrochemical Industry Limited, is alleged to have approval to lift over 80 trillion metric tonnes of Low Pour Fuel Oil from Nigeria for 35 years.
The panel, chaired then by a member from Ondo State, Mr Joseph Akinlaja, heard that Hungbohai commenced lifting of the LPFO since January 27, 2016.
The panel was informed that two indigenous oil firms, Mahat Oil and Gas Limited and Alkhairi Oil Limited, acted as facilitators.
While Alkhairi Oil was said to be the NNPC’s agent, the panel was informed that Mahat Oil signed as the representative of Hungbohai in Nigeria.
The House had mandated the Akinlaja panel to probe the matter after a consortium of law firms and the Chambers of O. J. Onoja (SAN) petitioned the legislature to raise the alarm that Nigeria was being “short-changed in excess of N91tn.”
The House was told that the consortium blew the lead over the deal after its client, Alhaji Ahmad Bamali, an interested party, uncovered the shady nature of the transaction and the “overall implications for the nation’s economy and generations unborn.”
The representative of the consortium, Mr. Bola Aidi, while making a submission to the panel at the National Assembly recalled how the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission began investigating the case but allegedly later retreated because of the powerful forces involved in the deal.
However, the NNPC did not appear at the hearing on but wrote to ask for another date and denied the existence of the transaction.
Aidi stated that the petitioners were further alarmed by the corporation’s denial that the transaction existed, a reason he urged the panel to ensure that a thorough investigation was conducted.
Revenue leakages are some of the most disturbing organised criminal activity going on inside of government that the revenue commission must uncover. The commission needs to look at the area of solid minerals and how illegal miners steal away natural resources that should be properly exported and the revenues shared to the tiers of government just like it is done in the crude oil sector.
The Revenue commission should check the development in Zamfara and the other northern states richly endowed with solid minerals but these resources are stolen and the revenues pocketed by individuals.
*Emmanuel Onwubiko heads HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) and blogs@www.emmanuelonwubiko.com,www.huriwa.blogspot.com,www.thenigerianinsidermews.com