The Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Muhammad Nami, has said that diversification of the Nigerian economy is on course.
Speaking at the ‘Public Presentation And Breakdown Of The Highlights Of The 2022 Appropriation Bill’, Muhammad Nami stated that N4.2trillion had been collected so far in 2021 in revenue, with about N3.3trillion, that is over 77% of the total collection from the non-oil sector.
“To address the issue of Nigeria not diversifying its economy, from a tax perspective, you will discover that we are actually diversifying the economy,” Nami stated.
“The total collection we have up to 31 September, which we have not fully reconciled with the CBN and the Nigerian Customs is about 4.2 Trillion Naira, and from this amount, oil related taxes accounted for only 22 per cent which is 950 Billion Naira only, while the non-oil taxes we have generated within that period is 3.3 Trillion Naira.”
President Buhari had during the 2022 budget presentation at the National Assembly that FIRS surpassed the non-oil taxes target by 11 percent.
Nami explained that though the potentials of the country’s non-oil revenues were being harnessed, it was however, not adequate.
“To discuss about the taxes that are being paid in the country and to say whether they are adequate or not, I want to believe one, they are not adequate,” he noted.
“People are not willing to pay even when they are appointed as agents of collection; whatever they have collected on behalf of the government they find it difficult to remit.
