President Tinubu’s economic advisers propose Customs, NIMASA, FIRS merger

A report by The Punch indicates that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Policy Advisory Council has put forth a series of recommendations aimed at revamping revenue generation in Nigeria.

Telescope.ng gathered that to support this policy, the council suggests the enactment of an Emergency Economic Reform Bill that would grant the President special powers to drive the economic reform agenda. This legislation aims to facilitate sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

The council also highlights several targets to be pursued by the President within the first 100 days in office, including the removal of fuel subsidies, the sale or concession of select government assets, the transition to a transparent and unified foreign exchange rate system, and the optimization of operating expenditure to reduce costs.

The Policy Advisory Council is composed of Senator Tokunbo Abiru as the chair, alongside Dr. Yemi Cardoso, Sumaila Zubairu, and Dr Doris Anite. The report submitted by the council, a 90-page document obtained by The Punch, focuses on fiscal and monetary policies, industry, trade, and capital market reforms.

The council believes that implementing changes in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and adopting temporary increases in fiscal circuit breakers such as debt limits would contribute to a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of N1 trillion and the creation of over 50 million jobs within eight years.

The recommendations put forth by the council also cover monetary policies, aiming to achieve external reserves of $50 billion to $60 billion, with a monthly inflow of $6 billion to $8 billion from export earnings and other forms of capital inflow. These policies’ target exchange rate is N500 to N600 per US dollar.

Regarding fiscal policies, the council advises the achievement of a domestic refining capacity of two million barrels per day while creating economic opportunities for host communities.

They also propose one-off Personal Income Tax reliefs for low-income earners as non-cash palliatives to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal.

Furthermore, the council suggests ramping up production capacity to four million barrels per day from offshore and onshore assets within four years, increasing crude oil revenue and savings in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) and Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).

They also recommend the formalization of illegal refineries and the encouragement of modular refineries to create economic opportunities for host communities.

The council emphasizes the need to aggressively grow domestic refining capacity to two million barrels per day within eight years, including the establishment of modular refineries.

Among other fiscal recommendations, the council proposes a policy directive to ensure that proceeds from the sale of assets settle existing Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) debt obligations.

They also suggest listing shares of strategic and profitable Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) subsidiaries and privatizing, concessioning, or selling down the FGN’s stake in corporate assets to generate liquidity in the short to medium term. The focus would be on sub-optimal assets, such as the NNPCL refineries.

These recommendations put forward by the Policy Advisory Council aim to create a robust economic framework that promotes growth, revenue generation, and job creation while fostering transparency and efficiency in Nigeria’s financial landscape.