FIRS, Customs, NNPCL, other agencies exceed 2024 revenue target

The Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Nigeria Customs Service and Nigeria National Petroleum Limited, NNPCL, said on Monday that they exceeded their targeted revenue generation.

Speaking separately during the Joint Committee on Finance, Budget and National Planning on 2025-2027 Medium Term Expenditure Frame Work and Fiscal Strategy Paper, MTEF-FSP, the chairman of FIRS, Zacchaeus Adedeji, said they surpassed across revenue components.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari, in his own presentation, said the company exceeded the N12.3 trillion revenue projected for 2024 by attaining the N13.1 trillion threshold before the end of the third quarter.

Kyari said: “On the 2025 fiscal year, N23.7 trillion is projected by NNPCL to be remitted into the federation account.”

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adeniyi, said as of September 30 this year, the service had generated N5.352 trillion in revenue, above the N5.09 trillion projected for the entire 2024 fiscal year.

He added that N6.3 trillion is targeted as projected revenue for 2025, 10% increase of which would be the revenue target for 2026 and an additional 10% increase for the 2027 fiscal year.

On FIRS, Adedeji said: “On company income tax, N4 trillion was targeted but N5.7 trillion has been realised now. On education tax, while N70 billion was targeted, a total of N1.5 trillion has been realised.

“All in all, out of N19.4 trillion targeted for the 2024 fiscal year, N18.5 trillion was realised at the end of September, which clearly shows that the target will be far exceeded by the end of the year.”

Chairman of the committee, Senator Sani Musa and other members raised concerns over endless borrowing by the administration to finance capital projects despite good outings by the agencies.

Senator Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central) asked, “What is the Federal Government doing with excess revenues generated by the various agencies in view of its unending request for foreign loan approval?”

In his response, the FIRS boss said loans requested by the executive were already part of the appropriation act.

“Borrowing is part of what has been approved by the National Assembly for the federal government, meaning that the executive borrows based on approval of the legislature.

“The fact that we meet revenue targets and even surpass them as revenue-generating agencies does not mean that the borrowing component of an appropriation law passed by the National Assembly should not be activated,” he said.

In a similar vein, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, said the federal lawmakers should not forget that the borrowing plans contained in the N35.5 trillion 2024 budget, which is primarily meant to fund the deficit of N9.7 trillion.

“Despite revenue targets surpassing by some of the revenue-generating agencies, government still needs to borrow for proper funding of the budget, particularly in the area of deficits and productivity for the poorest and most vulnerable.

“We have a long-term development perspective plan Agenda 2050 aiming at GDP per capita of $33,000,” he explained.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, also explained to the federal lawmakers that borrowing was still needed for proper funding of the budget despite increased revenues made by some agencies.

However, the Immigration Service of Nigeria ran into troubled waters at the interactive session over highly lopsided private-public partnership arrangements on passport production, which gave consultancy firm 70% of the proceeds and government 30%.

The chairman of the committee, Senator Sani Musa, ordered Immigration to present all the documents on the ‘unacceptable’ PPP arrangement to the committee before the end of the week.

“The so-called PPP arrangement must be reviewed or cancelled because Nigeria and Nigerians are seriously being shortchanged,” he said.

The total of N49.7 trillion has been projected as revenue for 2025

FIRS, Customs, NNPCL, other agencies exceed 2024 revenue target