Determined to tackle revenue leakage more aggressively, the federal government is to deploy the Revenue Assurance and Central Disbursement Solutions for its Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAS), as well as, FG-Owned Enterprises.
To this end, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, met relevant stakeholders, in Abuja, to fine-tune the deployment of the system.
Once implemented, the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) and non-GIFMIS platforms would monitor revenue generation and provide a consolidated dashboard of the revenue situation for all Federal Government-owned enterprises, online, real time.
The solution is expected to enhance financial transparency, accountability, and prudent revenue management.
Past efforts have yet to yield desired results as revenue leakage continued in MDAs unabated, with some federal civil servants who have relocated abroad still on the payroll, collecting salaries for which they did not work.
Once in place, the new system would ensure direct deduction of whatever revenue is due to the Federal Government from all MDAs and Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs).
Under the new system, payments would be made directly from government coffers to beneficiaries (contractors and staff) as the case may be, rather than through any form of third party.
President Bola Tinubu is said to be very passionate about the deployment of the system and has directed that the offices of his Special Advisers on Energy, as well as, Information and Communications Technology be involved in the project.
Other stakeholders at yesterday's meeting included officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).
President Tinubu had, at the weekend, directed that federal government workers who had relocated abroad and continued to draw salaries should be made to refund such funds and their supervisors with whom they connived to perpetuate such frauds be punished.
