In a bid to enhance the effective implementation of the 2024 budget, Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government are being called upon to ramp up their revenue generation efforts.
Rep. Sa’idu Musa Abdullahi, Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, issued this challenge during a budget defense session with the National Defense College (NDC).
Addressing the NDC, Rep. Abdullahi emphasized the need for the institution to explore viable revenue streams, suggesting the introduction of appropriate fees for military officers and other individuals attending the college from outside Nigeria. He stressed that, given the current economic climate marked by dwindling government revenue, MDAs should focus on generating internally generated revenue (IGR) without compromising standards or their core mandates.
“The essence of MDAs earning internally generated revenue (IGR) aligns with the present realities of reduced government revenue required to fund their budgets,” stated Rep. Abdullahi. He underscored the importance of prudently managing the percentage allowed by law to be spent on IGR, contingent on whether the department is fully government-funded or not.
Rep. Abdullahi highlighted that the NDC attracts top military officials from various countries for regular training, indicating that charging fees for trainees from outside Nigeria, as is done for Nigerian military officers training abroad, is a logical step.
In a parallel session with the National Universities Commission (NUC), the Finance Committee Deputy Chairman instructed the Commission to rectify financial discrepancies over the past three years by reconciling its mandate account with the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and ensuring full compliance with the latest circular. While the NUC cited property rents as its sole source of IGR, Rep.
Abdullahi pointed out an oversight in remitting only 25% to the CRF instead of the mandated 100%, emphasizing that, as a fully funded government agency, the NUC must remit the entirety of its IGR into the CRF.
