The Federal Government said on Sunday that the tax base of the country now had 19 million taxpayers, noting that the taxes stood at about N1.17tn in the first quarter of 2018.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated this at a press conference to mark the third anniversary of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, saying that the whistle-blowing policy had yielded the recovery of N13.8bn from tax evaders.
The minister said that under the Buhari administration, inflation fell for “15 consecutive months, from 18.7 per cent to 12.5 per cent as of April 2018”, adding that the country’s external reserves stood presently at $48bn – the highest in five years and “more than double the $23bn we met in 2015.”
Mohammed said, “The whistle-blowing policy introduced by the Ministry of Finance in December 2016 has since yielded N13.8bn from tax evaders as well as N7.8bn, $378m and £27,800 in recovery from public officials.
“Also, five million new taxpayers added to the tax base since 2016 as part of the efforts to diversify government revenues, brought the total to 19 million taxpayers. Tax revenue increased to N1.17tn in the first quarter of 2018, a 51 per cent increase on the first quarter of 2017.
“The Buhari administration has extended more than N1.9tn to state governments to enable them to meet their salary and pension obligations. The support has come in the form of budget support facility, Paris Club refunds and infrastructure loans.”
The minister said the Federal Government had also raked in about N143bn into the treasury through the whistle-blowing policy.
Speaking on the efforts put into power generation, the minister said before the end of 2018, Nigeria would generate 9,000 megawatts.
Mohammed said, “There will be more than 2,000MW of additional power generation capacity by the end of 2018, in addition to the 7,000MW currently being generated. We have also launched N701bn payment assurance programme designed to resolve the liquidity challenges in the power sector by guaranteeing payments to the generating companies and gas suppliers.
“The Federal Executive Council has also approved a Distribution Expansion Programme to increase distribution capacity in collaboration with the Distribution Companies.”
On the incessant clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the North-Central Zone, the minister gave the assurance that the government would not fold its arms.
“There is the deployment of a Joint Military Intervention Force comprising regular and special forces’ personnel from the army, air force and navy, who are working in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps,” the minister noted.
He said Nigerians must believe that the Federal Government was accountable in its policies.
The minister said, “For those who are tempted to belittle our achievements, let me quickly say that on May 29, 2015, the Boko Haram was squarely in charge of a territory, the size of Lebanon, as it occupied 24 Local Government Areas, collected taxes, deposed and installed emirs and hoisted its flags. Corruption in our society was at an all-time high and the economy was in the doldrums.
“Today, we are making strong and steady progress in the three priority areas we set for the nation; economy, security and the fight against corruption. We must be able to own our own future. We cannot be a hostage to oil price or production levels. By building an economy that is no longer reliant on the income from one commodity through the diversification process, we will be creating a sustainable basis for long-term and inclusive growth. We are aware that the government must be accountable, and this government is very accountable.”
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