The Nation Newspaper

Tag: revenue

  • ‘Akwa Ibom can rake N20bn in revenue’

    ‘Akwa Ibom can rake N20bn in revenue’

    A consultant to the Akwa Ibom State government on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) , Messrs Rom Flex Networks Limited, plans to increase the state’s intake to over N20 billion annually.
    The firm’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Eyo Bassey, spoke with reporters yesterday in Uyo, the state capital.
    Bassey said: “As the Federal Government grapples to shift the economy from the oil sector as the dominant provider of revenue for governments, Rom Flex Networks Limited as IGR consultants to Akwa IbomState government is prospecting to pull the state out of the present doldrums of recession.
    ‘We are set to benchmark IGR beyond N20bn in the current year.”
    He said the turnover of the previous year was “quite impressive”, while also forecasting increased revenue generation in the new fiscal year with a projection it said, has a potential to “more than double” receipts in the second quarter.
    He said as IGR consultant, it is seeking all avenues to increase government revenue.
    Bassey said the firm was collaborating with Ministries, Departments and Agencies, (MDAs), including the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Investments, Commerce and Industry to expand the state‘s tax net. Measures to be introduced include: the use of Tax Identification Number (TIN) and the introduction of Renewal/Registration of Business Premises (RBP), among others.
    He enjoined tax payers and all employers of labour to key-in with the revenue policy reforms.

     

  • Police plan crackdown on revenue collection violators

    Police plan crackdown on revenue collection violators

    •Emergency phone numbers released
    •State to introduce POS for revenue collection
    •Govt to employ first batch of 10,000 collectors

    The Edo State Government has released emergency phone lines to the public to report violators to the ban on the collection of revenue for immediate arrest.

    A statement yesterday by the Chief Press Secretary (Interim) to the Governor, Mr. John Mayaki, confirmed the development.

    The police special lines, the statement said, are: 08115808360, 08115808361, 08115808441,  08115808442.

    He said Police Commissioner Haliru Gwandu would enforce the implementation of the ban on collection of revenue by private individuals, following Governor Godwin Obaseki’s directive.

    Gwandu said: “I will send out 20 squads that will go round and ensure there is diligence and compliance of the ban.

    “You have heard the pronouncement and I am sure the people are happy. I can also assure you that the police will not rest on their oars.

    “Very soon, I will hold a meeting with my Divisional Police Officers (DPOs). I implore the people of Edo State to do the right thing and ensure that there is sanity. I will enforce the order to the letter.”

    Obaseki has perfected modality for the employment of the first set of 10,000 persons in fulfilment of his avowed electioneering promise to create 200,000 jobs.

    The governor, who spoke last Friday in Benin, the state capital, said his administration would introduce the Point of Service (POS) electronic platform for revenue collection via scratch cards for those who do not have ATM cards.

    Obaseki directed heads of local government administration to forward names of contractors initially collecting revenue to the Government House to jumpstart the job scheme.

    A government statement last Friday said the submission of the contractors’ names was part of the government’s avowed commitment to streamline tax  collection across the state.

    The statement said government’s decision followed Obaseki’s meeting with stakeholders at the Government House last Friday.

    Addressing reporters after the meeting, the Chairman of Edo State Internal Revenue Service, Chief Oseni Elamah, said the contractors were those previously selected to collect revenue on behalf of the local governments.

    Elemah said the contractors were also required to supply the names of their workers, phone numbers and passport photographs.

    He said: “This is with a view to capturing their details in our employment database.

    “In addition to this, the managing directors of those engaged as consultants or contractors have also been directed to supply the names of those people who were involved, the workers they used, their numbers and their photographs so that we can consider them for employment under the first 10,000 youths’ employment programme the government is working on.

    “They will undergo training before eventual recruitment will be made.”

    The chairman noted that: “under this, we are also working towards eliminating cash as a means of revenue collection”.

  • Fed govt approves 13% derivation for mineral revenue states

    Fed govt approves 13% derivation for mineral revenue states

    The Federal Government on Tuesday approved the implementation of the constitutionally guaranteed 13 per cent derivation from mineral revenues to deserving states.

    The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, made this known at a two day workshop on Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) in the development of mining sector in Sokoto State.

    Fayemi said the workshop would encourage beneficial participation of State Governments in natural resources governance.

    “We have gotten approval for the implementation of the constitutionally guaranteed 13 per cent derivation for mineral revenue to states. This is similar to the derivation that oil-producing states are currently enjoying from the Federation Account,” the Moinister said.

    He said that the Federal Government was working closely to build the capacity of state governments in the structuring of the vehicles to participate in mining in their jurisdictions.

    Fayemi, however, added that this was without undermining private sector players nor discouraging mining enterprise within their states.

    Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal said that the state would work with the Federal Government to formalise and manage the artisanal miners.

    He assured that the government would also work with defence and security agencies to curb illegal mining in the state.

    The State Commissioner for Solid Minerals and Natural Resources Development, Alhaji Bello Goronyo, said that the programme was part of efforts by the federal and state governments to diversify their economies through effective use of solid mineral resources.

    Goronyo said that the State Government had taken a giant stride in the drive to diversify the state’s economy through exploration, mapping and identification of the locations of the minerals in the state.

    The Commissioner explained that the State Government had given the ministry all the necessary support and cooperation to enable it discharge it’s duties without hitches.

  • FAAC: Revenue declines by N33.1b in November

    FAAC: Revenue declines by N33.1b in November

    The revenue available for sharing by Nigeria’s Federal, States and Local Government in November declined by N33.1 billion.

    Thus, N386.9 billion was distributed to all tiers of government compared to the N420 billion shared in October.

    The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, represented by the Accountant-General of the Federation,Mr Idris Ahmed on Thursday in Abuja attributed the decline to the decrease in crude oil export by 0.34 million barrels per day even though the average price of crude oil increased from 46.54 dollars to 47.08 dollars per barrel in November.

    “A brief Force Majeure was declared at Bonny Terminal while the Force Majeure at Forcados, Qua Iboje and Brass Terminals were still in place.

    “Federation revenue was low as a result of Shut-in and Shut-down of pipelines for repairs and maintenance due to leakages and sabotage. However, companies income tax and VAT recorded marginal increases.,” she said.

    Giving a breakdown of how the N386.9 billion revenue for the month was generated, Adeosun said N206.44 was from the distributable Statutory Revenue of the month.

    The sum of N6.33 billion was refunded by the NNPC to the Federation, N66 billion from the Excess Petroleum Profit Tax account, exchange gain of N38.85 billion and Value Added Tax, N75.6 billion.

    In summary, Adeosun said after deductions as cost of collection by FIRS, Customs and DPR, the Federal Government received N97.9 representing 52.68 per cent; states and N49.6 billion, representing 26.72 per cent.

    The local governments, she said, received N38.2 billion, amounting to 20.60 per cent of the amount distributed.
    She said N13.6 billion representing 13 per cent derivation revenue was also shared among the oil producing states.

    Adeosun said that the country generated N139.6 as mineral revenue and N100.5 billion as non-mineral revenue.

    She said this showed a decrease of N603 million and N2.07 billion from what the country generated as mineral and non-mineral revenue in the months of October and November.

    She said that the balance in the Excess Crude Account remains 2.45 billion dollars as at Dec. 15, 2016. (NAN)

  • N809.8b revenue shortfall cripples power sector

    The Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos)under the auspices of Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) yesterday complained that the N809 billion current shortfall in the liquidity of the operators was inhibiting their operation.

    Addressing reporters in Abuja, its Executive Director, Mr. Sunday Oduntan, said “the figure of the shortfall now is N809.8 billion in the whole industry.”

    He described it “as the revenue that is accruable to the industry that is not there, stressing that the regulators in the sector are very inconsistent and perhaps inexperienced.

    He recalled that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) fixed its tariff late December last year, but scheduled that the tariff should be effective on February 4 this year.

    This delay, according to him, caused a loss of N12.8 billion across the power sector value chain.

    He urged the government to give assurance on gas supply, and see to the possibility of selling to local consumers of gas in naira as ways of helping the sector.

    Oduntan said: “When you sell to me in dollar and I receive my money in naira, it cannot work. You should look at how best to factor these things such that at the end of the day, this thing will work. Not only selling in dollar, they are not selling at the rate recognised by the tariff. N197 is the allowed naira /dollar exchange in MYTO 2015. That means I am not allowed to sell my electricity based on the tariff computed on the basis of N197/$. So any increase in dollar is nobody’s business but my burden to carry.”

    He warned that if help fails to come to the sector,  the DisCos, transmission and generation sectors will all die.

    “Now the problem we have is that there is a lot of outstanding liabilities to be paid. We are owing NBET, we are owing market operators. We have been unable to pay. The huge shortfall does not encourage liquidity,” the ANED chief said.

    According to him, the operators cannot continue to run a system that does not allow the re-engineering of their balance sheet.

    He urged the government to make way for the recognition of shortfall in the electricity market.

    Oduntan called on the NERC to do the needful by making provision for a tariff that reflects the current reality in the market.

    According to him, since handover of the entities to private sector, several regulatory setbacks have hindered the DisCos from meeting their targets in the performance agreements.

    He called for an upward review of the N20 billion capita expenditure (CAPEX) limit that the Federal Government allowed the companies, stressing that it has tied the hands of the investors and hindered them from expanding their businesses.

    The implication of cap CAPEX, said Oduntun was  to avoid tariff shock. “If it is very high, tariff will be very high, if it is very low, tariff will be very low. But if you are looking at the reality in the market, while we are taking decisions on these things. Under the MYTO, I am only allowed to spend a certain amount-N20 billion, and that money is not enough.

  • FHA inaugurates revenue teams

    FHA inaugurates revenue teams

     •Issues N600m demand notice

    The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) has inaugurated new revenue teams for Gwarinpa, Lugbe, Kubwa and Karu housing estates in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the Southwest Zonal Office in Lagos.

    The teams, which took off early this month, were set up, following the non-performance of the previous ones.

    FHA’s Managing Director, Professor Mohammed Al-Amin, explained that the teams were set up to enable the Authority generate more revenue to enable it meet up with its commitments of about N1 billion between this month and next January.

    The FHA chief, in a document obtained by The Nation, said the  team members were appointed based on merit, integrity and track record of performance, urging them to justify the confidence reposed in them by Management.

    He promised to provide the committees with logistics, adding that they steer clear of controversy.

    Al-Amin promised that funds would be released for roads repairs and other infrastructure in Lugbe Estate to enable the team get the co-operation of allottees and residents of the estate. He urged them to pay attention to alterations, change of use and other abuses in the estates.

    The Authority’s Business Development Executive Director, Mr. Aniedi Akpabio, charged the team members that the Management would be expecting positive reports from them as soon as posible.

    Its Housing Finance, Accounts and Corporate Services Executive Director, Mrs. Nkechi Nwazota, said the members should send reports of their challenges and progress to the Managemnent of FHA.

    Many of the team members complained of the tenement rates the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) collects from estates’residents and the fees collected by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA).

    Meanwhile, the Gwarinpa Estate, Abuja Revenue Team has sent out demand notices worth N627 million.

    Its Leader, Comfort Ayeni, said the bills were for use charges and ground rents. Also, she said, bills of about N577 million had been despatched to property owners on change of use while about N105 million ground rent charges had been served on 105 units of Abriba duplexes in the estate.

    She said the team was concentrating on the seven avenues in the estate and would move to the inner streets later.

    In her report to the FHA, Ayeni explained that the major challenge the team has encountered so far were the multiple charges allegedly levied against allottees by the AMAC, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) and other agencies of the FCDA.

    She said though the FHA had got approval to collect Change of Use Charges since 2012, many of the allottees claimed to have been told by the FCDA that they had taken over the responsibility for such collection from the Authority.

    The Team Leader said there was the need to sensitise staff on the revenue drive, adding that they had experienced stiff opposition  from some of the Authority’s workers.

    She said her team would need more hands, security and logistics  to succeed in its assignment, urging the Authority to map out the means of ensuring prompt payment by allottees who had been served with demand notices.

  • ‘Arts, culture can earn huge revenue’

    ‘Arts, culture can earn huge revenue’

    Developing Nigeria’s Arts and Cultural heritage can generate huge revenue, says Permanent Secretary of Lagos State, Ministry of Education Mr Adesina Odeyemi.

    He spoke at the Festival of Arts and Culture for schools. The theme was: ‘Bringing the past into the present and the future.’

    Odeyemi noted that the programme was intended to remind Nigerians, especially the young ones, the culture as a people, sustaining and growing same to international standard and earning revenue from it.

    “The peculiarity of cultures makes them attractive to people outside that cultural group and your knowledge of the artistry that makes the culture can be a veritable source of revenue to you. As the saying goes, you can’t sell ice to the Eskimo. What attracts people is what is strange to them not what they grew up with and that is what drives tourism.

    Odeyemi admonished students to use their artistry talents to bear positively on the growth of the nation’s culture. He told them to introduce new initiatives that would result in rebranding and attracting patronage of both local and foreign tourism,” he said.

    Odeyemi underscored the need for the young ones to learn about their culture in order to preserve it and also exploit their talents in the arts to earn a living.

    “I charge you all therefore to develop your talents beyond the raw knowledge you have now and you will see yourselves not only being self -employed but an employer of labour. However, that should not becloud your quest for academic excellence because your education will come handy in everything you do,” he said.

    The programme was a climax of colourful presentations of dance drama, poetry recitation, and acrobatic display, among others which thrilled the dignitaries, teachers and pupils present.

    At the end of an exciting final, Education District IV emerged winner of the 2016 edition with the presentation Igbeyawo beating Education District VI which presented acrobatic display to second position, while Education District III emerged third with their Apala presentation. The winners received trophy each.

    Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary for Education District IV, Mrs Lola Are-Adegbite, said she was sure her district would win because of the level of preparation participants had ahead of the festival.

    “I feel really delighted and on top of the world.  I knew they would win because they have really been practising,” she said.

     

  • ‘Power sector revenue loss may hit N809b’

    ‘Power sector revenue loss may hit N809b’

    Should the lull in power supply persist, the sector’s revenue loss will be about N809.8 billion by next January, the Executive Secretary, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED),  Sunday Oduntan, has said.

    Besides, payment for electricity bills has fallen substantially as only 35 per cent of consumers pay   yearly.

    The loss in revenue was caused by problems, such as non-payment of bills by consumers and failure of the power distribution companies (DisCos) to pay the power generation companies (GenCos) in time,  among others.

    The Nation gathered that the sector loses between N10 billion and N15 billion to a wide range of   industry problems, such as pipeline vandalism, low level of water at the hydro power plants, erratic power supply, and inability of the consumers to pay their bills, among others.These problems have contributed to the erratic power supply in the country.

    Oduntan in a telephone interview with The Nation said the sector would be losing N809.8 billion by January, next year, if there is no improvement in the operation of the industry.

    He said the sector had recorded a shortfall in liquidity of N383.2 billion between 2013 and 2015, adding that the figure would increase as Nigeria’s economy continues its abysmal performance.

    Oduntan said: “Between November 1, 2013, when the new investors took over the unbundled assets of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and December 2015, the sector lost revenues of about N383.2billion. This is the loss recorded by the sector in two years. This is lower than the total loss of N809.8 billion, which the industry will incur between December 2015 January 2017 if the industry continues to grapple with its problems.

    He said losses accruing  to the sector were substantial, adding that it would be difficult for the industry to recover the loss soon going by the numerous challenges facing it.

    According to him, the power generation companies, the electricity distribution, and others at the value chain, have suffered losses. He stated that the loss in revenue would continue if urgent steps are not taken by the Federal Government to improve the operating environment.

    Oduntan also said 30 per cent of the electricity consumers pay their bills yearly, stressing that the issue has impacted negatively on the operation of the sector.

    He said: “Consumers on average pay N2,000 out of N5,000 monthly bills DisCos have charged them. Cases abound where many consumers do not pay anything.  A research conducted by the association shows that less than 40 per cent of consumers in Nigeria pay their energy bills. The issue has further compounded the woes of the power firms and the economy in particular.”

    The industry, Oduntan said, is battling liquidity problems following the loss in revenue recorded in the past five years. He explained that the problems in the sector are in stages because they do not come once, stressing that the operators are badly affected.

    Also, the Chief Executive Officer, Frontiers Oil Limited, Mr. Thomas Dada, said the loss cuts across every aspect of the sector. He said gas suppliers are counting their losses too due to problems in the industry.

    He explained that pipeline vandalism has ripple effects on the sector because every operator in the value chain is affected by the development. “Both the producers and suppliers of gas used in generating electricity have lost huge revenues to pipeline vandalism. Whenever pipelines are vandalised in the Niger Delta region, producers and suppliers of gas count their losses. On several occasions, they incur double losses while trying to stay in business,” he said.

  • Delta blames development lull on dwindling revenue

    The Delta State Government has attributed its failure to deliver satisfactory developmental projects to its dwindling financial fortunes.

    Deputy Governor Kingsley Otuaro, a deacon, spoke on Wednesday on government’s financial constraints at the inauguration of a community market built and donated by an individual at Kokodiagbene community in Warri South-West Local Government Area.

    Otuaro said the effects of renewed militancy in the state had slowed down the pace of progress.

    The deputy governor, who was represented by the commissioner representing the Ijaw on the board of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), Chief Favour Izoukumor, said several projects were planned for the area.

    He said they would be executed as soon as funds were available.

    Otuaro said: “Before now, we had a number of projects earmarked for this community. I think Comrade Sheriff Mulade can attest to this because of their peaceful disposition, which the commission will soon embark on. Like I said in my brief speech, the challenge we are having is about resources.

    “As you well know, the commission is tied to derivation: the higher the derivation we get, the more money we get to spend. However, the current economic challenges the countries faces and the agitation within the Niger Delta region, have almost crippled the Oil sector in Delta state. All these have contributed to the financial challenge we now face at the commission.”

    Addressing reporters, the financier of the market project and chairman of Kokodiagbene community, Comrade Sheriff Mulade said the market cost over N20 million.

    He said: “Our call will continue to be to government to do the needful for peace to reign. They can’t continue to ask for peace when they continue to fail in their responsibilities. This is the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy and you can’t be telling us to create for you the atmosphere to exploit oil while you refuse to develop us.”

  • Dangote Cement revenue hits N442b

    Dangote Cement revenue hits N442b

    Dangote Cement Plc has declared an increased revenue of N442.09 billion in the last nine months, its financial report released yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) indicated.

    The revenue in the nine month ended September 30, this year was 20.97 per cent higher than the figure recorded during the corresponding period last year, despite the harsh operating environment, a development attributed to management’s strategy to leverage on its pan-African status.

    The report indicated that the cement manufacturer increased revenue by N76.642 billion from N365.450 billion it made during the corresponding period last year.

    The crises of foreign exchange gulped a huge amount of its revenue, as it spent N231.684 billion on cost of sales during the period of nine months in foucs as against N138.694 billion spent on the same purpose in the same period last year.

    The huge money spent on cost of sales affected its profit after tax from N157.993 billion it made in nine months last year to end the current period with N133.521 billion.