MEDIATRACNET
The deployment of Treasury Revenue Directors to ten Federal Government owned enterprises boosted internally generated revenue (IGR) in 2021 by about 134.5 percent, the Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, said on Friday.
Idris who spoke at a Retreat for Chief Executives and Treasury Directors of Revenue of the Federal Government Owned Enterprises in Abuja said with policy, government realized about N1.25 trillion in IGR in 2021, from N532.90 billion in 2020.
The policy was introduced in 2020 by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, who approved the deployment of Treasury Revenue Directors to ten Federal Government-owned enterprises.
In approving the policy, the Minister said government believed the presence of Treasury Directors of Revenue at the FGOEs would ensure strict adherence to extant rules and regulations in the areas of compliance to approved budget and due process mechanisms in procurement and payments schedules.
Giving an assessment of the policy two years after it implemention, the Accountant General of the Federation said, “the deployment of the Treasury Directors of Revenue has already recorded great benefits for the Federal Government.
He said the internally generated revenue of the government has increased tremendously, from N532.90 billion in 2020 to N1.250 trillion in 2021 (134.56 percenr).”
He expressed optimism about a greater improvement in government revenue inflows if the policy was sustained.
The deployment of Treasury Revenue Directors to the FGOEs, he said, became imperative due to the challenges that was prevalent with regard to revenue generation and remittance by the FGOEs.
He mentioned some of the challenges to include non-remittance of operating surpluses by major revenue generating agencies; over bloated expenditure by agencies at the stage of budget preparation with the view to generating and spending IGR; payment of unapproved salaries and allowances; connivance with external auditors to prepare different audited financial statements to avoid tax payment.
Idris pointed out that the government was closely monitoring the ten FGOEs that were involved in the first phase of the deployment, adding that the exercise would be extended to the remaining 55 FGOEs once it is approved by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning.
