Don’t reverse reforms, World Bank tells FG

The country’s statutory revenue inflows dropped by N177.426 billion in September from N1.221 trillion received in the month of August 2024 to N1.043 trillion.

Meanwhile, the World Bank has urged the Federal Government not to reverse the ongoing economic reforms, warning that it may have negative implications for the country.

Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) reports that last month, Oil and Gas Royalty, Excise Duty, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) and CET Levies increased considerably, while Value Added Tax (VAT) and Import Duty increased marginally. It also noted that Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Companies Income Tax (CIT) and others recorded significant decreases.

This was announced, yesterday, at the October 2024 meeting of FAAC, in Abuja.

A communiqué from the meeting said N1.298 trillion September 2024 FAAC revenue was shared to the Federal Government, states and local councils, adding that the revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N124.716 billion, distributable VAT of N543.518 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) of N18.445 billion, Exchange Difference of N462.191 billion and Augmentation of N150 billion.

According to FAAC, total revenue of N2.258 trillion was available in September, with cost of collection gulping N80.993 billion while transfers, interventions and refunds took N878.946 billion.

The communiqué reads, “From the N1.298 trillion, the Federal Government received N424.867 billion and the state governments N453.724 billion, local councils N329.864 billion and N90.415 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting states as derivation revenue.”

From the N124.716 billion distributable statutory revenue, the communiqué stated that the Federal Government received N43.037 billion, the states N21.829 billion, the local councils N16.829 billion and 13 per cent derivation got N43.021 billion.

REMOVAL of fuel subsidy and abolishing multiple foreign exchange systems were policies introduced by the President Bola Tinubu administration on day one in office.

While the Federal Government has consistently defended the policies, many Nigerians have complained of their implication on the masses.

Pump price of petrol, which was N198 at the time Tinubu removed subsidy, sells above N1,000, while naira, which traded below N600 for one dollar, is above N1,700 in the parallel market.

Speaking at the launch of the Nigeria Development Update (NDU) report in Abuja, yesterday, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Dr Ndiame Diop, said while the reforms might bring hardship, they were necessary for the nation’s long-term stability.

Diop warned, “Reversing these reforms would be detrimental and would spell doom for Nigeria.”

In the same vein, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, emphasised the commitment of the Federal Government to sustain the reforms.

“Any effort that is not sustained will be a waste. Together with the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Minister of Budget and National Planning, we have been discussing how to stay on course, tackle inflation and ensure we move in the right direction.”

Edun further explained that the government’s focus was on reducing inflation while ensuring investment flow into critical sectors, where jobs could be created, as the country was expecting huge investments in the coming days.