The Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun says that the removal of fuel subsidy has raised monthly Federation Revenue to an average of N1 trillion, in the last four months.
Speaking at a two-day retreat for Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), in Asaba, the Minister who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Okokon Udo, said that the action significantly raised monthly revenue shared by the federal, states and local governments from an average of N650 billion monthly.
He stated that the choice of the retreat’s theme reflects the directive given by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to domestic revenue mobilisation and very timely. The retreat is holding at the Dome Event Centre, Asaba, Delta State.
According to the statement by Director of Press of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Stephen Kilebi, the minister said the economic reforms of the present administration have been applauded by economic experts in Nigeria, as well as, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
“All the sacrifices will not be in vain as government is bent on ensuring that the economy bounces back to normal as we continue to consolidate the recovery efforts on achieving inclusive economic growth and development.
“The Federal Government as always, will remain committed to the fiscal and monetary reforms that the administration has started, which are aimed at providing enabling business environment, diversifying the revenue base of the economy, creating fiscal space for investment in critical infrastructure and ensure macroeconomic stability”, Mr. Edun was quoted as saying.
Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Monday Onyeme, commended FAAC members for their fairness in sharing Federation Revenue among the three tiers of government.
This, according to him was especially true in the case of the oil-producing states of the federation where several wrong computations were corrected and refunds made.
He noted, however, “There is still much work to be done in this direction, particularly on the payments of 13% derivation to oil producing states, since the coming into force of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA)”.
The Governor added that, since the implementation of the PIA a lot of concerns had been raised by stakeholders of this sector in respect of the new roles of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) as it effects inflows of revenue into the Federation Account, stating that he hoped the retreat would address those concerns and lay them to rest permanently.