FG focuses on boosting local revenue to support development, Minister

The Federal Government has shown its dedication to boosting Nigeria’s local revenue system. The government believes the country cannot depend only on outside funds to grow sustainably.

Taiwo Oyedele, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, made this statement during the opening of a workshop on improving fiscal capacity at the state level on Thursday.

This workshop was part of the Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) program. It was organized by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Abuja.

The workshop brought together important players in Nigeria’s revenue sector. This included representatives from revenue institutions, development partners, and a team from Ethiopia visiting Nigeria to learn from its experiences.

During the event, Mr Oyedele said this forum was a good chance to rethink how Nigeria and Africa can finance development.

He said that no country can depend on outside funding forever to achieve sustainable growth. The federal government is working on reforms to increase local resource mobilization.

"The financial architecture that we have built will continue to grow stronger," the minister stated.

Mr Oyedele also confirmed Nigeria’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda 2030. He expressed the country’s willingness to strengthen partnerships with Ethiopia and other development partners to gather resources for sustainable growth and better living standards for citizens.

Also, Olusegun Adesokan, the Executive Secretary of the Joint Revenue Board (JRB), spoke at the event. He called for more independence for state revenue authorities. He believes this is crucial for improving local resource mobilization and financing sustainable development at the state level.

Mr Adesokan noted that states giving full independence to their revenue services have seen significant growth in their internally generated revenue (IGR) each year.

"The law clearly provides a framework for the autonomy of revenue authorities. Therefore, state revenue authorities should be granted full autonomy to effectively drive domestic resource mobilization at the subnational level," he said.