By Ubong Ukpong Abuja
The House of Representatives yesterday, approved N13.98 trillion expenditures, N8.36 trillion retained revenue and N5.62 trillion fiscal deficit for 2022 fiscal year.

The resolution was passed sequel to the adoption of the recommendations of the House Committee on Finance on the 2022–2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP), chaired by Hon.

The House also approved exchange rate of N410.15/US$ as proposed by the Executive for 2022-2024; projected GDP growth rate of 4.20% be approved and projected inflation rate of 13.00%.

The House also approved the proposed N613.4 billion Statutory transfers; N3.12 trillion debt service estimate; N292 billion Sinking Fund; N567 billion for Pension, Gratuities and Retirees benefits; aggregate FGN Expenditure of N13.98 trillion made up of total recurrent (Non-debt) of N6.21 trillion, Personnel Costs (Ministries Departments and Agencies) of N3.47 trillion; of Capital expenditure (exclusive of Transfers) N3.26 trillion; Special Intervention (Recurrent) amounting to N350 billion and Special intervention (Capital) of N10 billion.

The House also tasked President Muhammadu Buhari on the need for urgent implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) recently assented to, in order to curtail the problems of smuggling and round-tripping of petroleum products imported into the country to save the under-recovery cost.

The lawmakers also approved the $3.5 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan at the rate of 0.01% to 0.02% to shore up its internal borrowing and to reduce external borrowing because of the exchange rate risks.

The House during the consideration of the report also approved key parameters, namely: 1.88mbpd daily crude oil production, 2.23mbpd and 2.22mbpd for 2022, 2023 and 2024 respectively in view of average 1.93mbpd over the past 3 years and the fact that a very conservative oil output benchmark has been adopted for the medium term in order to ensure greater budget realism.

The lawmakers tasked Federal Government on the need to sustain the N5.62 trillion (including GOEs) fiscal deficit due to the Federal Government’s conservative approach to target setting and its determination to improve collection efficiency of major revenue-generating agencies while it continues to enforce the implementation of the Performance Management Framework for GOEs by ensuring that they operate in more fiscally responsible manner whilst reviewing their operational efficiencies, and costs-to-income ratios, as declared.

Similarly, the House underscored the need for continuous review of the Fiscal Responsibility Act to ensure that all revenues are remitted to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) as at when due, in order to curtail frivolous deductions and diversion of funds by the MDAs.

The lawmakers also called for the review of all laws relating to mining businesses as a matter of urgency to ensure upward review of rates applied to royalties, ground rent and licenses renewal of all mining companies operating in Nigeria to ensure transparency in the collection of revenue by the relevant agencies of the government and also look into the issues of illegal mining activities by recommending stringent sanctions in the proposed new laws.

The House also underscored the need for Nigeria Customs Service to accelerate the process of installing scanners at all Ports across the country to curb the issue of underpayment of Custom Duties on imported goods which has resulted in huge loss of revenue to the government and to further improve it activities at all borders across the country in order to curb the issues of smuggling across border areas.

According to the lawmakers, the proposed revenue budget of the Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs) should be reviewed upward to show the reflection of their capabilities to generate more revenue as a result of the findings of the Committee.

The House also stressed the need to strengthen the offices of the Accountant General (oAGF), Auditor General of the Federation (oAuGF) and Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) in the area of staffing and proper funding of its activities to ensure optimal performance of their duties in order to adequately monitor the remittances of all government revenues.

The lawmakers underscored the need for the review and amendment of the Act establishing some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), as a matter of urgency, to evidence a more nationalistic interest, with a view to generate more revenues to the coffers of the government.

The House also called for the review of Federal Government’s budget with a view to purge of some agencies that demonstrated capacity to stand on their own without any recourse to Federal Government of Nigeria budget.

The affected agencies are: National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria (NCAT).

In his remarks, Hon. Gbajabiamila who noted that the issue of control of Excess Crude Account (ECA) which was opened by Federal Government has been contentious, adding that dealing with excess revenue generated vis-à-vis debt should be addressed holistically.

In his contribution, Deputy Minority Leader, Hon. Toby Okechukwu underscored the need to provide enabling environment for the private sector to thrive and drive the economy especially in the area of employment generation.

He frowned at the situation where over N6 trillion appropriated for recurrent expenditure for about one million federal civil servants at the expense of over 100 million workers, is unacceptable.
The lawmaker also harped on the need for the Committee to advise the House on what to do on loot recovery, adding that a lot of money gets into the economy without anybody accounting for it.
Hon. Okechukwu also urged the House to review the proposed N410/$ exchange rate against the N580/$ at the parallel market, showing a difference of N170 to a dollar.
On his part, Hon. Ossai Nicholas Ossai stressed the need for the Executive to present the details as well as terms and conditions of the loans before passage, in order to avoid the
In his response, Hon. Faleke argued that the more Nigerians chase the dollar, noted that anyone doing genuine business should apply to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“Unfortunately the only weapon that we have that will lead us into production is power sector,” adding that, the agreements signed with DISCOs if reviewed will throw the country into another chaos.
While lamenting a situation where Nigeria conceded to domicile agreements and arbitration in another country, he noted that the agreement signed with the investor on Jebba power project, was appalling, saying “you will weep for Nigeria.”
After the debate, the House adopted 16 clauses out of the 17 clauses recommended by the House Committee on Finance.