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The Chairman, Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has emphasised the need for Nigeria to respect its fiscal limits to address its economic challenges.
Speaking on Day Two of the National Summit of Fiscal Responsibility Agencies in Abuja on Friday, Oyedele noted that Nigeria’s fiscal crisis is not only due to global factors but also local policy inconsistencies, mistakes and peculiar issues such as insecurity and poor project management.
He said, “We need more people to prioritise fiscal governance, which involves effectively managing finances, spending and borrowing. This requires coordinating policies within the Federal Government and across sub-national levels, with a focus on respecting fiscal limits and thresholds.
“You should not write into law that you cannot take a draft from the Central Bank of Nigeria beyond five per cent of your last year’s revenue, and then go ahead and take more than 100 per cent.
“We have to accept the context. We have a poor country with very limited resources, and on top of that, it is a very wasteful country.”
“You can’t develop a country by prayer. You need to make economic decisions. We need to hold the government to account,” he said.
Oyedele highlighted the country’s small budget size, which is less than one-quarter of South Africa’s budget, and expressed concern about the country’s reliance on borrowing.
He noted the need for coordination of policies, and transformation of the tax system to reduce its burden on the poor.
“We are designing the tax system to shift the burden in a way that the poor people and the most vulnerable, and the small businesses, won’t carry the burden of taxes in Nigeria.
“No economy can develop without investments. We need to hold the government to account. We need to make Nigeria a conducive environment for people to thrive,” he said.
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