Tag: remit

  • ‘Fed Govt yet to remit N100b retirees’ accrued rights, others’

    ‘Fed Govt yet to remit N100b retirees’ accrued rights, others’

    The Federal Government is yet to remit about N100billlion representing retirees accrued pension rights and employees’ outstanding contributions under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), the Chairman, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), Misbau Yola, has said.

    Yola, who made this known while speaking to journalists in Abuja, said the last payment on accrued rights was made in February, this year.

    Pension accrued rights represent the total sum of employees’ pension benefits before the commencement of the new Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

    The PenOp chairman, however, noted that despite the fiscal challenges, the Federal Government is trying its best as it has remitted contributions up to July, this year.

    He pointed out that it is important that all outstanding payments  are paid to avoid erosion of confidence in the CPS.

    He said: “The fiscal challenge being encountered by the Federal Government has affected its pension contribution and remittances

    “The Federal government is trying, as it has paid its remittances of contributions on its employees up to July, 2015. There are few challenges with the accrued rights, but we have been told that it would be paid soon. The last payment was made in February, 2015. These are issues that affect the confidence in the system.

    “We are aware that the Executive members of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) visited President Muhammadu Buhari and raised the issue of the accrued rights, and the President promised the accrued rights would be paid soon. The accrued rights and outstanding contribution rights is about N100 billion.”

    Speaking on compliance level of CPS by State Governments, he said Lagos State and perhaps Delta State are the only state that is up to date.

    He said others are at different levels of compliances.

    “The states are in various stages. We have various states and they have different needs and challenges. The Federal Government has complied the most and we can only encourage the states to also join the CPS.

    “Even in the PRA 2014, there is a mention of states; the reality is that Federal Government does not make laws on pension matters for states. The states have rights to do their pension he way they want so we have to continuously engage them based on moral suasion for them to join. The states don’t have the resources the FG has and fiscal discipline is different.

    “With the fiscal revenue challenges the states are having, it is not clear when the states will come out of the challenge. The states have revenue challenges and the Federal Government has more revenue streams,” he said.

  • Armed Forces, NNPC, secondary schools, others to remit IGR to govt

    The Armed Forces, the police, the National Assembly, the State House as well as ministries and Nigerian missions abroad are to remit 100 per cent of their internally generated revenue (IGR) to the Federal Government.

    Besides, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), among other government agencies, are to henceforth remit part of their IGR to the government.

    Federal Government’s education institutions, including secondary schools, are expected to remit 80 per cent of their operating surplus to the government.

    Of the 853 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), 243 are expected to remit 100 per cent of their IGR; 403 departments and agencies are to henceforth remit 25 per cent of their gross IGR.

    Two hundred and seven departments and agencies will remit 80 per cent of their gross operating surplus. Others, tagged as “special”, will have their remittances determined by the Federal Ministry of Finance.

    The directive followed a comprehensive amendment of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), 2007 by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Finance.

    The Chairman of the Committee, Abdulmumin Jibrin, yesterday in Abuja, said the amendment became expedient because of the loss of over N2 trillion yearly to the Federal Government as its independent revenue.

    Jibrin, who explained that the committee was working on a comprehensive amendment to the FRA 2007, added: “As all MDAs of government raise one form of IGR or the other, the committee has resolved to expand the current schedule of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 from 31 agencies to include all MDAs operating in the country.

    “To this end, the committee has decided to amend Section 22 of the Act to reflect the following categorisation: ‘Special cases, including dividend remittances, Public Private Partnership (PPP) proceeds and others as may be determined by the Ministry of Finance in conjunction with the Fiscal Responsibility Commission’.”

    According to him, the committee will not leave any room for manipulation by the agencies, as was happening before.

    Jibrin said: “For the purpose of clarity and to avoid ambiguity, the committee plans to reflect under each categorisation all Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

    “All MDAs are to also disclose to the committee all partnerships with the private or public sectors not listed below and the respective business arrangements, that is, equity, debt, management contract, among others.

    “Failure of any MDA, MDA joint venture or MDA partly owned enterprise to be captured in this exercise will be deemed to be a deliberate act of suppressing government revenue”.

    Jibrin advised any agency that has reservations over the categorisation to approach the committee with its concerns.