Senate maps out strategy to triple revenue to GDP, as Lawan laments huge borrowing

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The Senate has mapped out a strategy to ensure that Nigeria’s revenue to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is tripled in 2022, even as the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, yesterday lamented that no nation is happy taking loans from independent sources.

Speaking to journàlists yesterday at his Maitama Guest House in Abuja, during a Media interaction to mark his 63rd birthday celebration, Lawan said the Senate has put up a programme that will enable the Senate to interface with the revenue generating agencies on a quarterly basis, including the Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Inland Revenue Service, among others, especially on their targets. 

Lawan said the revenue agencies must either triple the targets given to them by the Ministry of Finance, or at least double it, adding that the relevant Senate Committees must effectively oversight the agencies to plug every leakage, even as he expressed hope that this will help the economy to reduce the level of dependence on borrowing.

“The Senate in this new year wants to ensure that revenue to GDP is improved by dealing with revenue generation and remittance. We will on quarterly basis meet with the revenue agencies on their targets.

“We are looking at starting early February. Nobody is happy taking loans or borrowing as a country, but what can you do when the revenue is not enough, but to get funds from independent sources. We are expecting double or triple of what we usually get from the revenue agencies at least to reduce the extent of borrowing”, Lawan told journàlists.

Speaking further, he said the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) already signed by President Muhammadu Buhari will be implemented this year, even as he charged the relevant agencies to ensure that the objective and efforts of the National Assembly in passing the Bill is not defeated.

To this end, he expressed confidence that if the Act is well implemented, through remittances from the International Oil Companies, Nigeria will be able to recover most of what the economy had lost in the past.

The Senate President also said the 9th Senate is courageous given its decision to do what other Senate is not able to do given the dangerous implications. He said the Senate he leads restored the budget cycle to January – December, even when experts think it is not possible.

He said though mischief makers have continued to call them names like rubber stamp, but the 9th National Assembly has stabilized the Nigerian economy by passing the budget on time and the President signed it early, making Nigeria to survive two recessions.

He said they have also been able to stabilize the polity by ensuring that the legislature and the executive does not work at cross purposes. He said those calling them rubber stamp are ignorant or are just being mischievous.

“We are not perfect but we will always do what is best for the nation. The Senate has done over 90 percent of what we set out for ourselves, but other challenges keep coming because the society is dynamic. The Senate has approved up to one trillion for the security and it is now the duty of the executive to release the funds and for lawmakers to oversight effectively and for the security agencies to work up to expectations”, he said.