External Debt: Firm Charges FG, MDAs to Unlock Streams of National Revenue

A Governance, Public Sector & Political Consulting Firm, Modo Ante, has charged the federal government, private sector players and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to unlock streams of revenue to increase National Revenue generation to aid policy reforms that will increase government productivity.

The firm said it would communicate with organisations, MDAs at the Federal, States, and Local governments as well as private sector players as it gears up to hold a two day “National Revenue Growth Summit” in the first quarter of 2024.

The Summit is expected to strengthen collaboration between the public and private sectors to aid policy reforms that will increase Government productivity levels and boost its revenue generation.

According to Modo-Ante, the Summit will be held under the umbrella of “Governance Par Excellence”, to spearhead Discourses and Initiatives towards improving the standard of governance and supporting all tiers of Government to fulfil their mandates.

It also noted that the cumulative effect of all these is expected to improve Nigeria’s overall global competitiveness.

Modo-Ante revealed that the present administration inherited a heavy national debt, which as at end of June 2023, stood at N87.38 trillion, comprising domestic debt of N54.13 trillion and external debt of N33.25 trillion.

The resultant effects of this debt situation, it stated, include low Government liquidity, currency devaluations, high inflation rate and sluggish growth, among others, all of which are hindering Government from implementing some of its laudable programs in fulfillment of election promises to citizens.

This debt profile is likely to increase due to expanding fiscal deficit and reducing revenue generation.

The firm espoused that President Bola Tinubu presented the 2024 national appropriation budget of N27.5 trillion, which aims for 3.7% economic growth and based on a N9.18 trillion deficit. The deficit is to be financed by new borrowings totaling N7.83 trillion.

This situation, it noted, calls for all concerned and well meaning stakeholders to contribute their own quota to ameliorate the current crises, mitigate possible worse future outcomes and support Government to succeed, by proffering solutions to the trend of additional borrowing and its attendant implications, saying, ‘A plausible approach is for government to increase its revenue profile without necessarily adding to the tax burdens of the citizens.’

The National Revenue Growth Summit, themed “Unlocking New Streams of Revenues for Government”, is a 2-Day event that will bring together Senior Government Officials, Public Officers, other critical stakeholders and experts, with a focus on identifying and exploring options to grow national revenue.

The Summit intends to enable good understanding of the current state of Nigeria’s revenue landscape, identify key challenges and opportunities, provoke an out-of-the-box thinking approach that embraces innovative approaches to creating “new money” opportunities for Government, especially through creation of value-added services that will enhance Government’s productivity and bring about new streams of revenue.