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How non-state actors deprive LGs of N50bn revenue — Oyedele

Published

4 months ago

January 25, 2024

The Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele has blamed non-state actors for depriving local governments in the country of generating as much as N50 billion in revenue.

The tax reforms Chief disclosed this in an interview with Channels Television on Monday.

He explained that most of the levies that are charged by the collectors do not get to the government, stressing that the current chaos of multiple taxation nationwide will be eliminated when implantation starts.

Oyedele, while making reference to the Bureau of Statistics, stated that for 2022, all the local governments in Nigeria that sent reports to them, didn’t even collect N50 billion naira in a whole year, even though a lot is taken by non-state actors.

According to him, if properly streamlined, just the collection of stickers on vehicles could attract as much as N50 billion Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for just one of the big local governments in the country.

“I think only one local government should collect N50 billion. The amount of wastage is mind-boggling.

“You don’t want to fathom it. And the reason why it’s so painful is that these are the monies we are extracting from the poorest people.

“But when you extract money from people who are just trying to make ends meet on a day-to-day basis, it’s painful that those monies are pilfered and you know, they are extorted and all of that.

“The state is not benefiting, the local government is not benefiting and the people are sacrificing, they are going through pain. So, what we are proposing is vastly different and benefits everyone,” he said.

Oyedele noted that the federal government is also meeting with state governors to suspend what he described as “nuisance taxes” nationwide.

He argued that banning nuisance taxes, which do not even go to government coffers, will ensure that the government makes more money while relieving the taxpayer of the burden of paying multiple taxes.

He said, “We are not waiting for the instrument to be out. Some of it would be, for example, asking states and local governments to suspend nuisance taxes that just create problems with very little revenue to show for it.

“We are already meeting with the governors. In some cases, we will set off small committees to discuss with their team. So, we’re already working on that. Once the thing is signed, there’s no excuse, just implement it like the next day,” he added.

He emphasised that when the governors agreed, then more than 90 percent of the problem would have been solved, with the local governments following closely.

He said, “So, we’re discussing with the governors first and demonstrating to them why this is good for the local government, good for them and good for us as a people. Once the governors agree, then, we’re not going to ignore the local governments.

“We are now taking a top-down approach, but we will engage with everyone, including during the conference of speakers, and the forums of finance commissioners. We’re engaging with everyone,” he added.

The committee chairman said he was as impatient as many Nigerians to see the results of the reforms and, more importantly, the impact on the people, particularly the small businesses.

“Unfortunately, fiscal policy matters are not as quick. So if you make a monetary policy decision today, you can see the impact tomorrow. Sometimes, fiscals take a little longer but even at that,” he said.

He stated that efforts were on to present some bills to the lawmakers so that Nigerian people could begin to feel the positive impact sooner rather than later, saying that by the end of the first quarter, the process would have been concluded.

According to him, when the new reforms take effect, payment of taxes will be easier.

“You can pay it once or you pay it in installments and electronically. It shouldn’t be that hard. It should not be harder to pay taxes than it is to buy pizza. So, the receipt comes on your phone.

“That way, the money gets to the government, and the people pay less. The government collects more and then we can then move on to the second phase of what we are also working on, which is how to spend that money to benefit the people,” he said.

According to him, the view of the committee is that the local government can collect more than 10 times what they are collecting now by following the recommendations.

“We are looking for sources where we can find at least N50 billion which we can then use to compensate them for suspending the taxes we’re asking them to suspend.

“We’re also thinking about how you bring all stakeholders on board because at the end of the day, if you stop the livelihood of anyone, whether they are earning it legitimately or not, you can create crises that would be difficult to manage.

“But once you bring everybody in, maybe we need to train those area boys and touts, give them uniforms and then they’ll be the ones to ask you to show the evidence on your phone.

“And then they get paid a decent salary. And if you give them the skills, some of them will on their own, move on from that job to something else. So, our strategy is to think about what’s best for our country and get all stakeholders to align,” he said.

Recall that President Bola Tinubu had inaugurated a tax reforms panel, saying it reflects his commitment to addressing challenges and bringing about transformative reforms in fiscal policy and taxation.

The committee’s primary objective is to enhance revenue collection efficiency, ensure transparent reporting, and promote the effective utilisation of tax and other revenues to boost citizens’ tax morale, foster a healthy tax culture, and drive voluntary compliance.

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JUST IN: Student loan application portal opens May 24

Published

6 hours ago

May 16, 2024

NewsDirect

The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, on Thursday night announced that May 24, 2024, was the official date for “the opening of a portal for student loan applications,” a statement signed by the media lead of the Fund, Nasir Ayantogo said.

Ayantogo, in a statement, said the opening of the application portal marks a significant milestone in the commitment of President Bola Tinubu to” fostering accessible and inclusive education for all Nigerian students.”

On June 12, 2023, Tinubu signed the Access to Higher Education Act, 2023, into law to enable indigent students to access interest-free loans for their educational pursuits in any Nigerian tertiary institution.

The move was in “fulfilment of one of his campaign promises to liberalise funding of education,” a member of the then Presidential Strategy Team, Dele Alake, said.

The Act, popularly known as the Students Loan Law, also established the Nigerian Education Loan Fund to process all loan requests, grants, disbursement, and recovery.

Although the government initially announced that the scheme would be launched in September, it suffered several delays, leading to an indefinite postponement in early March.

The Presidency had linked the delay to Tinubu’s directive to expand the scheme to include loans for vocational skills.

After receiving a briefing from the NELFUND team led by the Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu, on January 22, the President directed the Fund to extend interest-free loans to Nigerian students interested in skill-development programmes.

Tinubu based his decision on the need for the scheme to accommodate those who may not want to pursue a university education, noting that skill acquisition is as essential as obtaining undergraduate and graduate academic qualifications.

“This is not an exclusive programme. It is catering to all of our young people. Young Nigerians are gifted in different areas.

“This is not only for those who want to be doctors, lawyers, and accountants. It is also for those who aspire to use their skilled and trained hands to build our nation.

“In accordance with this, I have instructed NELFUND to explore all opportunities to inculcate skill-development programmes because not everybody wants to go through a full university education,” he had said.

Through the portal, students can now access loans to pursue their academic aspirations without financial constraints.

The portal, according to the statement, provides a user-friendly interface for students to submit their loan applications conveniently.

“We encourage all eligible students to take advantage of this opportunity to invest in their future and contribute to the growth and development of our nation.

“Students can access the portal on www.nelf.gov.ng to begin application,” the statement said.

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Reps threaten cancelation of PPP and concessions in transport ministry

Published

8 hours ago

May 16, 2024

NewsDirect

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Assets has issued a stern warning to cancel all Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreements and concessions within the Federal Ministry of Transport.

The announcement came during a session in Abuja where the committee interrogated officials from the ministry, led by Permanent Secretary Pius Oteh.

Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Ademorin Kuye, expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of compliance with existing laws in the PPP and concessions agreements, particularly concerning the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) and the Railway Property Management Company Limited (RPMC).

Kuye stated that non-compliance with extant laws could lead to the cancellation of these agreements.

Oteh also told the committee that the ministry has over 170 leases but was unable to provide the relevant documents as required by the lawmakers to prove whether there were compliance with the extent laws.

One of the required documents is the receipt of payment which the lawmakers said was not attached to the documents submitted by the ministry in disregard to their request.

The committee in its resolution invited the Minister of Transport, Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Railway Corporation and other relevant organisations to appear on their next sitting.

The chairman warned that the committee will not hesitate to invoke relevant constitutional provisions if any organisation fails to honour their invitation.

“As you may be aware, this committee will not hesitate to invoke the relevant constitutional provisions if any head of ministry, agency or department fails to honour the invitation of this committee.

“We can issue an arrest warrant and direct the relevant security agencies to bring such person here,” he said.

He noted that improper management of government assets through public Private Partnership and Concessions has been one of the major challenges in infrastructure development.

It would be recalled that the House of Reps through its resolution in Feb. mandated the committee on Public Assets and Special Duties to probe Public-Private Partnership initiatives and concession agreements across the country.

The committee noted that in spite of initiating several PPPs and concession programmes, the outcomes have been mixed, with some projects stalled and others failing to yield anticipated results.

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Edo election: INEC fixes May 27 to start distribution of PVCs

Published

8 hours ago

May 16, 2024

NewsDirect

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Edo State, will begin the distribution of about 373,030 uncollected Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs on May 27.

The state Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Anugbum Onuoha, made this known in Benin on Thursday, during a stakeholders’ meeting on the forthcoming Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, exercise.

Onuoha stated that the PVC collection exercise would be done side-by-side with the CVR exercise, also scheduled for May 27.

INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, had announced to begin the CVR exercise in Edo and Ondo ahead of the governorship elections in the two states.

Onuoha says while the statistics of registered voters in Edo is 2,501,081, collected PVC is 2,128,288 and uncollected PVCs stand at 373,030.

He said both the CVR and the PVC collection would be a 10-day exercise, starting from May 27 to June 5, from 9.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. daily, including weekends.

The REC explained that the exercise would be conducted in the 192 wards and the state headquarters of INEC in Edo.

He also disclosed that each registration centre would be managed by two officials drawn from the commission and the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC.

“In addition to the registration of voters, the commission will also make available the uncollected PVCs for collection during CVR.

“Also note that no PVC will be collected by proxy. Registered voters should come in person to collect their cards.

“There will be no pre-registration option because of time constraints,” he said.

Onuoha, however, appealed for the support of the media, Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, traditional rulers and religious leaders in encouraging voters to locate and pick up their PVCs.

According to him, the commission has published the final list of candidates for the Edo governorship election following the conclusion of primaries of the political parties.