5 days ago
23
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, on Monday emphasised the urgent need to rethink the country’s revenue generation strategies amid the volatile nature of oil revenues which had long been the backbone of the economy.
He spoke at the opening of the 5th national treasury workshop with the theme, “Nigeria’s Revenue Challenges and the Way Forward: Exploring Non-Oil Alternatives” which was organised by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) in Abuja.
The minister noted that oil revenues have, however, experienced a downturn in recent times, and called for innovative measures to boost generation.
Represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Lydia Jafiya Shehu, Edun pointed out that recent global shifts in energy policies, declining oil demand and fluctuating crude prices had jointly made it abundantly clear that “we cannot afford to be overly dependent on oil revenues”.
He said, “We must, therefore, embrace a diversified economic approach that taps into the immense potential of non-oil sectors such as agriculture, solid minerals, manufacturing, tourism, digital economy and creative industries.
“Nigeria is blessed with abundant natural and human resources that remain largely untapped. The question before us today is: how can we harness these resources effectively to drive sustainable economic growth and development?”
He said the workshop seeks to provide actionable answers to these questions by fostering robust discussions among key stakeholders in the financial and economic landscape.
The minister noted that several non-oil sectors have demonstrated strong potentials for revenue generation, job creation, and economic transformation, adding that it was time to explore these aggressively.
He identified the critical areas to include agriculture and agro-processing, solid minerals and mining, manufacturing and industrialisation, tourism and hospitality, the digital economy and ICT, as well as tax reforms and compliance among others.
Edun noted that while the potential of non-oil revenue sources was evident, several challenges impede their full exploitation.
He said harnessing non oil revenues are further hammered by poor infrastructure and high cost of doing business, bureaucratic bottlenecks and regulatory inefficiencies.
Others include low tax compliance and widespread revenue leakages as well as insecurity and its impact on investment confidence.
He said the government is already taking bold steps to tackle these issues through reforms in public financial management, digitalisation of revenue collection, and strengthening of tax administration.
Yet, the minister asserted that the role of the private sector in complementing government efforts cannot be overemphasised.
He said accountability and transparency in public financial management remained paramount in building trust and attracting investment.
He expressed confidence that the workshop will provide valuable insights and strategies for repositioning the country’s revenue framework in line with global best practices.
The Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Dr. Oluwatoyin Madein, described the theme of the workshop as apt considering the state of the economy owing to a multiplicity of factors ranging from the exchange rate volatility, low revenue performance, rising costs, amongst others.
She said these have complicated fiscal operations in the last few years.
Madein noted that the workshop remained a yearly occasion where seasoned technocrats are invited to rub minds on salient issues confronting the nation’s economy with a view to proffering workable solutions to move the country forward.
James Emejo
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