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Rep charges agencies on improved capacity to tackle deficit

By Kehinde Olatunji
28 September 2021   |   2:53 am
A Senator representing Lagos East Senatorial District, Adetokunbo Abiru, has tasked revenue-earning agencies of government on improved capacity.

Tokunbo Abiru

A Senator representing Lagos East Senatorial District, Adetokunbo Abiru, has tasked revenue-earning agencies of government on improved capacity.

The lawmaker stated this during the debate on the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure and Fiscal Strategy Paper.

Abiru, a former Lagos State Commissioner for Finance stated that one of the sustainable ways of reducing the huge budget deficit is to improve capacity in revenue drive and plunge wastages.

He reiterated the need to drive agencies to maximise their capacity, saying this will salvage the country from the economic holocaust.

This was contained in a statement signed by his special adviser, Enitan Olukotun.

“How do we moderate the deficit? One of the country’s major revenue earners is oil. As the world is getting relaxed based on the discovery of the vaccine for COVID-19, there will be an uptick in demand. Even the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is increasing world output in terms of quota.

“In the midst of this, what do we have in Nigeria? Our own oil agency is falling short. It has a capacity of 2.5mbd but we still lose above 100,000 bpd of crude oil. If you extrapolate that in a year it is in excess of 40 million barrels, and excess of N1 trillion. These are revenues that can moderate our deficit and improve our capacity to pay our debt.”

Abiru added that when nations are confronted with a recession, they spend their way out of the conundrum. “You spend yourself out of recession to keep the economy moving.”

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