By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee has lamented the general laxity towards FG’s assets across the country estimated at N100 trillion
He said, the government can earn N10 trillion from the assets yearly to fund developmental programmes, if managed properly.
Oyedele stated this at an end-of-year cocktail party held in his honour by the Harvard Business School Association of Nigeria (HBSAN).
“Government has not shown care at all about those assets such that they are being mismanaged. Imagine that you become more efficient with a hundred trillion assets alone. Even if you get a return of 10 per cent per annum, that is N10-trillion revenue,” he said.
The tax expert said if the assets could not be managed properly, it should be sold off. He said some of it would give FX liquidity to make the private sector more productive, adding that not only would that stimulate economic activities, but would bring returns in the form of taxes.
Oyedele said while nothing has been done to the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) Act, the law of 1959 would be rewritten to make it clear that those assets, including government’s interest in enterprises, should be managed by MOFI.
Oyedele noted that the top pillar of the 75-member presidential committee was economic growth facilitation, adding that the only sustainable way to generate revenue is to grow the economy.
He said the country needed to look at impediments that make it difficult for the economy to be competitive and grow, particularly for small businesses.
Oyedele added that the committee has presented its reports to the President with key recommendations to address critical economic issues ranging from exchange rate management, the impact of fuel subsidy removal, and moderation of inflation to facilitating economic growth.
