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FG Plans More Taxes To Reduce Debt Burden

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The collection of more taxes and effective blocking of revenue leakages remained the best measures that would drastically cut external borrowing and reduce the high debt burden of Nigeria, the Federal Government said, yesterday.
The government, however, said the debt burden was not beyond what it could effectively handle.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, represented by the Director (Technical Services), Fatima Hayatu, canvassed these views at a workshop on tax expenditure organised by the Economic Community of West African States Commission under the context of the Implementation of the Support Programme for Tax Transition in West Africa in Abuja.
The event was aimed at examining directives on harmonisation of tax expenditure management practices and the monitoring and evaluation of tax transition in ECOWAS member-states.
The minister said the issue of tax expenditure was of a great concern for the government.
The government had in July said the country’s debt service cost in the first quarter (Q1) 2022 was N1.94trillion, N310billion higher than the actual revenue received during the period indicating that Nigeria’s debt service cost presently outweighs its revenue.
Ahmed said, “If we have more taxes and redirect the taxes to the right fiscal sectors of our economy, we will reduce our debt burden. It is not as if the debt is beyond what the government can handle. If you look at the ratio of the debt to the Gross Domestic Product, I think the government is doing well.
“The debt is not something that cannot surmounted. The programme is to block leakages where the taxes are being diverted. So, if we block leakages, and if it is transparent, Nigeria will borrow less and we will have more money to finance other sectors.”
While informing that reforms in tax expenditure management were gaining traction in Nigeria, she observed that the development had resulted in the continuous development of in-house capabilities and internal restructuring in agencies for greater efficiency.
Ahmed also said that government would commence the rationalisation of tax exemptions by phasing out antiquated pioneers and other tax incentives for matured industries.
According to her, contrary to what was obtained in the past, the country is presently reaping the benefits of tax exemptions and concessions given to small businesses.
She said, “A lot has changed, the system is more transparent and tax expenditure that government has given which is tax for bond is to encourage ailing and infant industries to be able to do more and employ more youth.
“I am glad to say that the tax expenditure that federal government has been given has encouraged industries and manufacturers to stay afloat even with the COVID-19 pandemic and also to say that they have been able to keep their staff. That, to us, is an achievement because we don’t want people to loose their jobs which would reduce the insecurity we are facing.”
Ahmed said Nigeria was committed to strengthening transparency in its public financial management towards the drive to boost domestic resource mobilisation.
The Head (Corporations), European Union for Nigeria and ECOWAS, Cecile Tassin-Pelzer, lamented the ratio of tax to GDP in the West African region, describing it as low.
While stressing the need for ECOWAS member-states to effectively mobilise more taxes to offset the potential decline in revenues, she observed that domestic revenue is an important source of government expenditure funding, but revenue mobilisation remains a critical challenge in the region.
Tassin-Pelzer said, “The global economic challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia have affected economic opportunities of countries and individuals. West Africa is no exception. In fact, one can argue that the impacts of these challenges are felt even higher in this region than in so many others.
“Efficient management of internal taxation for improved revenue generation cannot be over emphasized. As we all know, the tax to GDP ratio in this region is too low and, and our host country, Nigeria, is one of the lowest in the world. Therefore, it is important for the region to get the tools required for a proper monitoring and evaluation of the taxes.”
The Director (Customs Union and Taxation), SalifouTiemtore, called on the Federal Inland Revenue Service to deploy adequate resources for collection of more tax than the custom administration in order to mitigate the loss of revenue due to stain of liberalisation of the region’s economy.
He said the PATF programme would strengthen regional fight against fraud, tax evasion, Illicit Financial Flows and other forms of corruption.
Tiemtore said, “We need to know what government is paying as incentives or any type of exemptions they are giving to investors. If assess and quantified properly, it will give us an idea what government could get as revenue if such activities are not exempted from tax.
“We are also looking at fiscal transition. In the world right now because we are dismantling custom tariff and also looking at the liberalisation of our economy. What this means is that we are dismantling custom tariff which automatically means a loss of revenue from custom tax. We need to strengthen our domestic tax administration so that we will able to collect more money. FIRS, therefore, have to collect more tax than the custom administration to mitigate the loss of revenue due to stain of liberalisation of our economy.”

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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