The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Consolidated Revenue Fund

  • FG yet to increase consolidated revenue fund for UBE

    The federal government is yet to effect the three percent increase in the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) for the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme, The Nation has learnt.

    Confirming this development at the weekend was Johnson Ibidapo. He spoke at a sensitisation workshop on UBE programmes.

    The UBE Act stipulates that universal basic education programme should be funded from 2% of the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF). However, the National Assembly reportedly increased it to 3% recently but the increment is only on paper and yet to be implemented.

    According to him, the UBE programme was supposed to wind up by 2015 but it is still ongoing because it’s yet to fulfill its mandate.

    Ibidapo while reviewing the programmes earmarked for basic education, also went a step further to highlight the different roles of other stakeholders including civil society, community development associations, parents forums, school management boards committees among other groups involved in the value chain.

    Speaking earlier, Executive Director, Human Development Initiatives, Mrs. OlufunsoOwasanoye while justifying the need for the interface and interaction sessions said it was part of efforts aimed at encouraging community participation in governance, especially in basic primary education.

    Chairman, Oluwa-lagba CDA, Mushin, Lagos, Chief MurainaKomolafe, in his short remarks stressed the importance of early childhood education, saying that all stakeholders need to come together to support the course.

    Former Board Secretary, Lagos SUBEB, OlatunjiAdefuye, while thanking the HDI for putting up the programme, noted that education is not the responsibility of the government alone but all stakeholders, including people in the community. “If the communities are fully involved in education a lot will change for good, a lot would be better.”

    On her part, Princess OluAkinlude, Executive Secretary, Mushin LGEA, while thanking the organisers for the laudable initiative, said such a programme would go a long way to sensitise the communities on their roles and responsibility in delivering quality education at the grassroots.

    Participants were drawn from Kosofe, Somolu, Mushin local councils respectively.

    The UBE programme is a nine year basic educational programme, which was launched and executed by the government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to eradicate illiteracy, ignorance and poverty as well as stimulate and accelerate national development, political consciousness and national integration. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo flagged off UBE on 30th September 1999 in Sokoto, Sokoto State. The UBE Programme is Nigeria’s strategy for the achievement of Education for All (EFA) and the education-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

    The seminar is a series of workshop being organised by HDI with support from MacArthur Foundation to raise awareness among various communities for effective participation in the governance and monitoring of development in the education sector, especially basic education.

  • FG Loses N1tr to Non-Remittance of Operating Surpluses – FRC

    FG Loses N1tr to Non-Remittance of Operating Surpluses – FRC

    The Fiscal Responsibility Commission has raised alarm that the federal government may be losing over N1 trillion due to the non-remittance of operating surplus by revenue generating agencies.

    Acting Chairman of the commission Mr. Victor Muruako made this disclosure at the first edition of the Nigerian Economic Stakeholders Summit in Abuja Thursday.

    He said the agencies of government have perfected their art of defrauding the country through deliberate wrong computations, express diversion of funds, and application of wrong accounting standards.

    Muruako said the commission “will ensure that every kobo of government is well utilized. We have decided to monitor the payment of operating surpluses by revenue generating agencies into the CRF.

    However the commission he said has been able since 2009 to attract N367 billion into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) from operating surplus of revenue generating agencies.

    The Director, Monetary Policy Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Moses Tule in a paper presented at the event pleaded with the government to avoid the mistake of late passage of the 2016 budget stressing that with the budget starting about five months into the year, it would be difficult to ensure its full implementation.

    Tule said even if the government were to release the N6 trillion it budgeted for the year 2016, the economy he said, does not have the capacity to absorb such huge spending over a seven month period.

    Since the fund was planned to be utilized over a 12 months period, “any plan to release it within seven months would only worsen the level of inflation in the country.

    He added that this could only be effectively managed through fiscal and monetary coordination.

    The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed who was represented by the Director, Macroeconomic Department in the budget and planning ministry, Mr Tunde Lawal said the federal government was “implementing a roadmap to stimulate investment into the solid mineral sector and plug revenue leakages in the sector.”

    The government she said “is also determined to set a three year deadline for the country to be self sufficient in refined petroleum products and become a net exporter.”

    To achieve this, she said the federal government would ensure the speedy passage of the Petroleum Industry.

    In order to allow for effective implementation of all programmes and projects contained in the 2016 budget, the minister said the monitoring and evaluation system is being repositioned.

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara who also spoke at the event said the House of Representatives would continue to provide strong legislative backing to the government to execute its programs, noting that the recommendations for the summit would assist in enriching the legislative agenda.

  • NDIC remits N15.4b into Consolidated Revenue Fund

    NDIC remits N15.4b into Consolidated Revenue Fund

    The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), remitted a total of N15.4 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund between 2007 and 2014.

    The Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), made this known in a commendation letter it wrote to the NDIC praising the Corporation. It commended the management of NDIC for compliance with the submission of its audited financial statements of 2007- 2014 and prompt payment of operating surplus.

    This letter dated December 14, last year was signed by the FRC Acting Chairman, Victor Muruako.

    The FRC report indicated that the NDIC was well above average in compliance with Sections 21- 23 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) 2007 and “had fully complied with the provisions of the General Reserve Fund into which 20 per cent of its Operating Surplus was retained in accordance with Section 22 (2) of the FRA 2007”.

    The report also commended the Corporation’s compliance with the payment of 25 per cent of its Gross Revenue to the Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federation in accordance with Ministerial Circular on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

    According to the FRC, “it is quite commendable that NDIC is one of the few Corporations that have fully complied with IFRS, which has greatly improved financial reporting of the activities of the agency,” the report observed.”

    The FRC also reviewed the Corporation’s annual approved budget and considered it to be of high standard in terms of process and content. “The accounts were generally of high standard and depict compliance with international best practice,” the FRC wrote.

    The FRC gave the NDIC the all clear when it wrote that “the Corporation’s record keeping is also commendable and the integrity of its financial reporting is enhanced with the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).”

  • FG recovers N34b from illegal MDA accounts

    FG recovers N34b from illegal MDA accounts

    The Federal Government said it has so far recovered N34billion out of the N58billion traced to illegal accounts operated by some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

    The MDAs were alleged to be generating revenues and diverting them instead of remitting them into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) Account maintained at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    Briefing journalists in Abuja on Monday at the inauguration of two committees on Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System (IPPIS) and the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS),  the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the federal government will take further measures to ensure that the government gets what is due to it.

    She said, “We had to act fast as agencies that are revenue generating refused to comply with the provision of remitting 25 per cent of such funds to the treasury. We pleaded with them, tried to dialogue with them, but it was not working. So we had to take some drastic measures. We have so far recovered N34 billion of such monies and have factored it into cash backing for second quarter release for budget 2013.”

    The federal ministry of finance had last month disclosed that some revenue generating agencies in collusion with banks were withholding about N58 billion generated by some government agencies but not remitted to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).

    The ministry then threatened that from Monday, June 17 the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, will close such accounts in all banks. This process of systematic closure the ministry said will continue until all monies that should be in the Consolidated Revenue Fund are retrieved.