The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved reforms to prop up non-oil revenues to N3.8 trillion and oil revenues to N160 billion annually.
Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President for Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, briefed House correspondents after the FEC meeting on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The meeting was chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo while President Muhammadu Buhari is on a state visit to Portugal.
Akande said the reforms would boost the federal government’s finances, especially non-oil revenues.
“Among several of the memos presented was the one from the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning on Accelerating Revenue Mobilization Reforms, which is an offshoot of the Federal Government’s Strategic Revenue Growth Initiative.
“The significant progress that has been achieved in this initiative includes the elevation of the Value Added Tax (VAT) from five percent to seven percent and other measures since 2019.
“This particular initiative is intended to address some of the federal government’s fiscal challenges as it seeks to increase Nigeria’s non-oil revenue potential.
“So, it is estimated that with the implementation of this reform, it would result in a potential additional generation of non-oil revenue and oil revenue of 3.8 trillion naira per year for non-oil revenue and 160 billion naira for oil revenue,” said. he said.
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He said there were also other significant memorandums submitted by the Federal Attorney General on Nigeria’s consent to the Budapest Convention on Cyber Crime.
According to him, the convention is a comprehensive national legislation against cybercrime as a framework for technical assistance, as well as for international cooperation between the states parties.
“The Minister of Water Resources also submitted a memorandum for the implementation of the federal government component for the execution of the rehabilitation, expansion and improvement of the Gombe Regional Water Supply Project under the National Water Resources of Nigeria.
“And the council approved the sum of N939 million which has been foreseen in the 2022 budget as matching fund for this urban water supply improvement in line with the National Water Supply and Sanitation Policy,” Akande said.
(YAYA)