Nigeria: We Are Not Merging Revenue Generating Agencies - Govt

The federal government has disclosed that it has no plans to merge revenue-generating agencies as speculated in some sections of the media.

President Bola Tinubu's special adviser on revenue, Zacchaeus Adedeji, made the clarification during an interview on Channels Tv, monitored by Daily Trust yesterday.

Adedeji revealed that the harmonisation or integration does not mean the current administration will merge the various revenue collection agencies.

"We are not collapsing. The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited will be NNPC because it is limited. FIRS will be (on its own) but the collection of all revenues will be technologically driven by data," he said.

Adedeji said through the integration of revenue collection agencies, the country's total annual revenue which is currently below N15 trillion will be increased without imposing extra taxes.

"The current administration needs to increase the nation's revenue not through taxation but by addressing indiscipline in national spending and technologically monitoring revenue collection when agencies like Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), and Nigerian Customs are harmonised.

"The law is very clear as to how to collect revenue. In Section 162 of the Nigerian Constitution, it is clearly stated that there shall be an account called the Federation Account and all government revenues must be put into that account.

"When we talk about harmonisation, we are just saying the integration of all collecting agencies, that on one platform, we can know what is happening in Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Customs, and the FIRS," he said.

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.