Saraki urged the president to employ greater policy coordination, reform prioritisation as well as passed economic bills to implement the 2018 budget more than before in order to record high percentage of success. He also implored President Buhari to plug leakages in federal government’s revenue generating agencies, which he said have over N40 trillion accruable to the consolidated federation account. According to the Senate president, it is worrisome that these agencies are just remitting N400 billion as revenue to the consolidated federation account. He observed that the executive has no use forwarding deficit budget bill or even planning to borrow to finance the nation’s budget. Saraki said, “It is pertinent to note that the implementation of the 2018 Budget – how it is implemented – will be a defining element of this Administration. We must therefore continue to work together to steady the ship of this recovery. “Revenue from taxes as well as independent revenues from State Owned Enterprises must be taken seriously. If the budget is to be funded, we cannot afford to turn a blind eye to revenue under-performance. “While there is a need to review extant laws guiding the operation of some Government enterprises, I would urge for more determined effort on the part of the Executive, to plug leakages. This sector alone accounts for over 40 trillion naira in valuation, of which less than 400 billion naira is remitted as revenue to the Consolidated Federation Account. “This is not acceptable. We need to vigorously address this area”. While Saraki expressed joy for President Buhari’s healthy and rejuvenated or good physical shape, he added that his recovery coincided with country’s economic recovery. Saraki thanked members of the National Assembly for putting the country first and resisting the urge to play politics, while President Buhari was away in London on medical vacation. He described as a welcome development the presentation of the 2018 budget before December, even as he commended the executive on the exit of Nigeria from recession. He continued: Without doubt, this recovery benefitted from greater policy coordination, reform prioritization and passage of economic bills, but more importantly, the resilience of the Nigerian people. “As the country gradually recovers, it is important to reset the fundamentals that drive our economy – so we do not slide back into recession. We must reassess the relationship between oil and our economy. “Oil prices are gradually inching up, but that is no reason for complacency in our diversification drive. We must grow our economy away from oil – as well as the need to increase non-oil revenue generation and collection”. Saraki further urged the president to direct federal government parastatals and agencies to submit their budgets along the 2018 budget, just as he asked him to punish those agencies that fail to do so by denying them access to capital expenditure unless the budget is passed. He added: “Further to the area of increasing independent revenue, there is the need to review agreements that government has signed with some private sector service providers. Many of these agreements are biased, and clearly, not in the interest of the country. “We appreciate the need to spend, Mr. President. However, we must ensure that our borrowing is targeted at productive projects that will stimulate the economy. We must ensure real value-for-money in projects funded by borrowing, and make doubly sure that the projects are not overpriced. “To ensure consistency in government’s economic programmes and tax policies, we will be requiring that the submission of the 2018 Budget – and budget submissions going forward – be accompanied by a Finance Bill. ‘’This bill – which should clearly detail the imposition, alteration or regulation of taxes such as the proposed tax on luxury items and excise taxes, among others – will put the financial proposals of government into effect” Speaking on the plight of Nigerians, Saraki said, “As we are all aware, many businesses were adversely affected by the recession; many lost their means of livelihood. As the country emerges from that period of uncertainty, the question on the lips of many Nigerians has been this: How does the recovery translate into tangible economic benefits for me? “We must remember that the real gains must be felt on a personal level by the individual, for economic recovery to have meaning. People are seeking to get back to work but cannot find jobs. Entrepreneurs want to restart their businesses but are finding it difficult to access the needed capital. As for our farmers, the last thing they want is for produce to go to waste because people cannot afford to buy. “Looking around today, we see that many of our undergraduates are apprehensive about their graduation day; and our National Youth Corps members are not looking forward to the end of the service year, for fear of being tagged ‘unemployed”.]]>
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