ABUJA — Citing the devaluation of naira as a crucial factor, the House of Reps Committee on finance rejected the N1.33 trillion revenue projected by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) for the 2022 financial year.
According to the Lawmakers, the projection is inadequate especially considering the devaluation of the country’s currency.
James Faleke, chairman of the committee, declared that the committee will not be accepting the N1.33 trillion revenue projected by the NCS.
“For us as a committee on finance, we will not accept the N1.3 trillion. I am sure that by the time our report comes out, you will be pleasantly happy.”
The NCS had indicated that it was projecting the sum as its 2022 revenue during the ongoing interactive session on the 2022/2024 medium-term expenditure framework/ fiscal strategy paper (MTEF/FSP) for ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), held in Abuja on Monday
Hameed Ali, comptroller-general of the agency, during his presentation acknowledged that Customs simply chose to come up with a figure that was considered reliable.
He also noted that the agency is hoping to surpass the target.
“We came up with a figure that is realisable. Then, whatever comes thereafter, we hope that we will surpass that. We try to be as realistic as we can in our proposal,” he said.
Leke Abejide, another unimpressed lawmaker, described the target as a ridiculously low projection.
Abejide who is also the chairman of the house committee on customs and excise, said he had expected the agency’s proposal to be N2.5 trillion and above.
“This is very ridiculous because now, the naira has been devalued already. So, you will discover that the volume of money you are getting, if you want to get the real value, you will see that it is not a real improvement. So, I expected the proposal to be from 2.5 trillion and above.”
“So, if you look at the value of the naira that’s going down, it needs upward review. So, please take note of the parameters, and secondly, the finance act has been passed. There are so many ways we can get revenue now better than last year,” he said.
Muktar Ahmed, another member of the committee, stated that the committee would not accept anything less than N3 trillion.
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