The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) has taken measures to plug revenue leakages and boost the country’s revenue collection through the instrumentality of the Finance Act, 2021 and the Petroleum Industry Act, enacted by the elapsing 9th National Assembly.
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Speaking at a three-day training by the African Leadership Development Initiative (ALDI), organised by the Department for its staff, at the weekend, in Abuja, Director of the Federation Account Department, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Muhammad Saleh,
expressed optimism that a firm knowledge of the content and of the two Acts would equip the staff of the department to know what to look for in the nation’s drive for more revenue generation and distribution.
“I must say that the content of this programme is a very rich and is something that everybody should be availed the opportunity to learn one or two things. With the content of this programme, you all know our responsibilities. We have a responsibility of collecting all information regarding the revenue being generated by the revenue generating agencies, especially the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
“The NNPC has turned to be another thing today. It is a commencial venture which is supposed to remit its proceeds to the federation account for sharing. There are basic items which it’s supposed to bring to the table for sharing. But if you don’t know, you will not find the revenue that is needed to be distributed. At the end of the day we distribute nothing,” Saleh said.
Also speaking, the National Coordinator and Chairman, Board of Trustees, African Leadership Development Initiative (ALDI), Barrister Uzo Eberendu, explained that the Initiative is a non-governmental organisation involved in midwifing and explaining a lot of critical issues in the society, including training, capacity building and networking.
“The Federation Account Office is the department that plays the critical role of organising the distribution of the revenues as accrued to the federation, and shares it among the three tiers of government according to the laid- down standard formula.
“So, this training is largely meant to bring into effect the knowledge of very recent legislations by the National Assembly, concerning the Petroleum Industry Act and the Finance Act in relation to revenue generation of the country and then its distribution. So, that is why we brought about the training of people who know the effect of these new laws and how it can apply in handling the funds.
Eberendu lamented that most of the revenues generated in the country were not accounted for.
According to him, there was lack of will power to use the instrumentality of the law to generate and manage the needed revenues for the nation’s unhindered development.
“There are problems in the nation’s revenue generation process. Most of the revenues generated on behalf of government are not accounted for through so many leakages. And many others are not even integrated or harnessed. Then another thing is the political will to use the instrumentality of the law to generate and manage the needed revenue in the country.
“I think this is the most critical of all the factors militating against our revenue generation and administration. In the revenue generation process, there is so much interference from the powers that be and lack of strength of will to implement established laws in revenue collection,” he stated.
Source-The Sun Nigeria
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