ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Federal Government of Nigeria has disclosed its intention to conduct an audit of the N23 trillion Ways and Means debt.
Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, made this announcement during the ongoing Public Wealth Management Conference organized by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated in Abuja on Tuesday.
Edun also revealed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC) has been urged to enhance oil production to bolster revenue generation.
Additionally, he mentioned that a bill will soon be presented to the National Assembly, seeking authorization for the removal of all taxes and levies deemed burdensome from the country’s tax system. This measure aims to reduce reliance on future Ways and Means indebtedness.
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Furthermore, Edun stressed on the government’s commitment to implementing policies that facilitate real-time revenue collection from government-owned enterprises and corporate entities.
He highlighted ongoing efforts to audit the inherited backlog of N22.7 trillion in Ways and Means debt, likening it to conducting an audit before repaying a bank loan.
Addressing the issue of liquidity, Edun stated, “We have to stem liquidity. The Central Bank has led the way in pointing out that the ways and means have to be tailed down and eliminated and that is what we agree with.
“We are doing in that direction, there was an inherited amount of N22.7trn in backlogs. We are auditing it and it is like when I am ready to pay a loan from a bank and I ask for an audit before finding the agreed sum to pay.
“But apart from that, how do you get your ways and means down? We have to get revenues up and expenditure reduced as much as possible.”
Explaining the concept of Ways and Means, Edun clarified that it refers to the funds provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria to the Federal Government temporarily to supplement spending until revenue is generated.
Meanwhile, Olayemi Cardoso, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, disclosed that the apex bank will refrain from extending Ways and Means to the President until previous loans are repaid.
Cardoso emphasized that this measure is part of the bank’s strategy to mitigate the economic challenges currently facing the country.