Posted by From ISAAC ANUMIHE, Abuja on
Chairman, of Federal Inland Revenue Service(FIRS) Ms Ifueko Omoigui said at the weekend that Nigeria's entire earning in eight years (1999 to May 2007 which stands at N16. 5 trillion) will buy only one laptop per head going by Nigeria's population of 140 million people.
Chairman, of Federal Inland Revenue Service(FIRS) Ms Ifueko Omoigui said at the weekend that Nigeria's entire earning in eight years (1999 to May 2007 which stands at N16. 5 trillion) will buy only one laptop per head going by Nigeria's population of 140 million people.
In the Federal Ministry of Finance detailed breakdown allocations as published from June 1999 to May 2007 total monies allocated from Federation and VAT pool accounts (including excess crude allocation) to the three tiers of government amounted to N16.5 trillion. Of this amount, N9 trillion (or 55 per cent) was allocated to the state and local governments including the FCT. and an additional N1trillion may have been raised as internally-generated revenue from both states and local governments.
'On the face of it, this looks like a lot of money. But lets put it in perspective - on a per capita basis, total revenues generated (using our current 140 million population figure) amounts to about N120,000 for every Nigerian (or N70,000 per capita for all of the states and local governments) in eight years of development. This is the cost of one laptop per Nigerian (if one saves over an eight-year period) or indeed to what some individuals spend on GSM cards in one year depending on usage. Revenues generated are not enough.
'Of the monies allocated, over 85 per cent was derived from Crude Oil and Crude Oil related revenue. Specifically from the CBN figures in 2001, percentage was 77per cent, and in 2006 as a result of higher oil prices over the years, it averaged at 89 per cent contribution. This would also get 'worse" as oil prices increase at a rate higher than non oil revenues, as in 2006, oil prices averaged about $65 per barrel whereas in 2007, oil prices have been known to have gotten as high as $90 per bbl.
This means that if not properly managed, we not only become highly dependent on oil revenues but in addition, a vast majority of our tax paying public do not contribute to the development of their own country. When someone else provides the money for you to develop your own country, the level of involvement in determining exactly how such monies are spent will be abysmally low. That is the situation we find ourselves in today with the result that we may be sub optimizing rather than utilizing the revenues generated even when such monies are generated from Oil.
'With an estimated population of 140 million people and a poverty incidence of about 54 per cent (about 76 million people) we have serious developmental challenges which can only worsen as long as population growth remains unchecked or as long as the revenue base to support the population growth does not sufficiently support such growth."