As Nigeria marks her 65th independence anniversary, the Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Dr. Tanimu Yakubu, has said that political independence is no longer enough, insisting that what Nigeria needs now is fiscal independence.

Dr. Yakubu, who made this declaration in his Independence Day message to Nigerians, said for too long, Nigeria has lived on borrowed time, borrowed money, and borrowed excuses. “We consumed what we did not produce. We borrowed without discipline. We allowed leakages to drain our commonwealth.”

Commending what he called the bold and courageous reforms of the Bola Tinubu administration, Yakubu said Nigeria is experiencing a new era that promises a blissful future.

He recalled some of the reforms of the present administration, including the removal of the fuel subsidy and the unification of the exchange rates, which he said, though painful, were necessary.

He said, “These reforms were not painless. But they were honest. They were necessary. They were the price of a nation choosing courage over comfort.”

He said it is to prevent future leaders from undoing today’s sacrifices that the government is amending some laws, especially the Fiscal Responsibility Act.“Deficits will now have anchors. Debts will now have ceilings. Every loan must prove its worth in schools built, hospitals equipped, or roads paved. No more borrowing to waste. Only borrowing to build,” he said.

“We are also creating the National Accounts Payables and Receivables Authority (NAPRA), a guardian of liquidity, a sentinel of discipline, ensuring that every naira due to the people is collected, and every debt owed by the government is settled.”

He also informed that the government is correcting the errors in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). “Today, it siphons 30 per cent of NNPCL’s profit from oil and gas to frontier exploration and allows another 30 per cent retention, despite operational costs already absorbed. No oversight. No sunset clause. This is haemorrhage. This is leakage written into law. We shall stop it. We shall seal it. Every kobo from oil must serve the people, not private fiefdoms.”

To ensure the success of the reform initiatives, the DG of the Budget Office called on the government to cut extravagance, obey its own laws, and make every budget a covenant of service.

He urged citizens to pay tax with pride, demand accountability, and see contribution as covenant, not punishment.

He also called on the elites to shun monopoly, end prebendal privilege, and invest in enterprise.

“For no fortress of privilege is safe in a collapsing state,” he counselled, adding that Nigeria is not poor. “Nigeria is poorly managed. With fiscal discipline, Nigeria can be great. With equity, Nigeria can be just. With sustainability, Nigeria can endure.

“For in fiscal discipline lies greatness. And in greatness lies the true promise of independence,” he added.