Senators have urged President Mohammadu Buhari, to increase taxation in the country, to enable the government meet up the required revenue to implement the 2016 budget, given that huge financial shortfall is expected from the revenue projections made in the budget proposal by the President.
One of the projected revenues in the budget alredy crashing, is the N820 billion oil revenue that is at a deficit of N395billion now going by the $27 per barrel it sells at the international market as against $38 per barrel projected in the budget.
To this end, the senators suggested that instead of relying on borrowing substantially for the implementation of the budget, more taxation is a better option.
Leading the debate in this direction, the Senate Chief Whip, Olusola Adeyeye (APC Osun Central), said without spreading taxation in the country to all other uncovered areas, there would be no money to fund the budget, moreso, in the face of dwindling oil revenue.
He said the country needed to go back to the model of governance used during the first republic, where every adult was made to pay tax and not now that only civil or public servants pay tax.
According to him “If we are going to move this country forward, we must go back to what we did in the days of Obafemi Awolowo, Ahmadu Bello and Nnamdi Azikiwe.
“Nobody in my village will go to his farm until he can produce his tax receipt; we need ingenuity to bring this to pass. We must begin to tax things like cigarette, alcohol, you beat your wife you pay heavily.
“Text messages cost N3.81 a page: if we ask just N1 to a page of text message and we say that the money belongs to government, we will make billions.
“We must install toll roads but that is not enough: across the world, when you park at any airport you pay per hour; we must do what the rest of the world does.
“We must begin to tax allowances; Nigeria is the only country that shelters the bulk of the earnings of its workers and call them allowances. You don’t want your allowances taxed? They will be taxed because they must be taxed”, he suggested.
For proceeds made from tax collections and other revenues of government to be properly used, Adeyeye tasked the senate’s public Accounts Committee to be up to its responsibility, as it was in the 7th Senate under the chairmanship of Senator Ahmad Lawan (APC Yobe North). He specifically called on the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, not to allow recommendations of such committee against wastage in governance to be swept under the carpet, just as he called for cut in cost of governance at all levels and more effective oversight functions by the various senate standing committees.
He said “I know that everybody in the Nigerian Senate is either a Chairman or a vice chairman of a committee, each of us therefore try to defend whatever sector that has been committed to your care.
“When things go wrong, if you are APC, you will blame PDP, if you are PDP, you will blame APC. We forget one thing that every year, we were sent by our people here to monitor this budget and prevent them from failing.
“I duff my hat to the former chairman of public account who brought to this senate most germane relevant document about abuses in the system, but we in this chamber refused to consider it.
“I pray to God that under your leadership, whatever is brought must be considered otherwise, God will judge all of us beginning from you.
“Lastly, if we are going to save this country, we must reduce the cost of government. There are too many parastatals and when you look at these parastatals many of them have failed in their missions, we continue to protect them and give them money, it is time for them to go.
“We must go back to operation 504. There was a time when our President rode 504, go and stand in front of Eagle square, see what cars judges, senators and ministers are riding”.
Pummeling the heavy borrowing plan of the budget, was the senate deputy minority whip, Abiodun Olujimi ( PDP Ekiti South) , who warned that if the budget is allowed to pass as it is drafted, it may send Nigeria back into the list of pariah states.
She said the budget only made projections for heavy revenues through massive borrowing without stating any plan for repayment of such loans.
She said as things are presently, the N6.08 trillion budget which came with a deficit of N2.2 trillion may end up having a deficit of N2.6trillion, which will invariably make the country to borrowing average of N500million for its financing.
She said: “Mr. President my worry about this budget is very simple and I am not a financial expert but I see that the expenditure and deficits are the major problems and the clog in the wheel of its progress.
“Right now Mr. President we have a deficit of $11 on every barrel of oil that we sell and in the budget we have a deficit of 2.2 trillion that is $11 deficit in 2.5- 2.6 trillion, that’s not a serious problem, the problem is if we need to borrow to manage this 2.6 trillion it means we will be borrowing 500 million everyday of this year.
“Every day of this year, this government will look for N500 million to borrow and that is not been fixed. To crown it all there is nothing in this budget that suggests repayment for this every other thing in the budget. It is quiet. It is only expenditure and nothing has been set aside to ensure that we pay back our loans.
“What it means Mr. President and distinguished colleagues is that we are likely to become a pariah state like we were before begging from people to help us pay our debts which we must never get back to that level.
“A country that borrows and does not plan to pay back has not done enough work at all and what we will be doing distinguished colleagues is that we would be given the people with one hand and we would be taking from them with both arms because at a point the people will borrow from will ask for their money back and we have only four years for this government. If we borrow 500 million Naira a day and cannot pay it in one year, it rolls over to the next year and in four years you find that we are in deficit of almost 6trillion which we must never get to.
“I think Nigeria needs a better budget, I believe there is the need for change and the change is not in this budget yet and there is a need for us for Nigeria a strong economic team and social developers who can bring required change we want. We will run with this budget but there are so much more to be done”.
However Senator Dino Melaye (APC Kogi West), in his contribution, said there was nothing wrong in borrowing in a situation we presently find ourselves.
According to him, Monies projected for borrowing this time around, would not end up in people’s pockets as it was in the past without anything on ground to show for them.
“There have been a lot of agitations about borrowing. There is nothing wrong with borrowing. The United States, the strongest democracy today, is the highest borrowing nation in the world.
“But the question here is what do you do with what you are borrowing? In the past we have borrowed but our performance is a beautiful nonsense. We have borrowed in the past and used it to the benefit of individuals. The Dasukigate is a typical example. But this time because we have a progressive government, we have men in power who will administer the administration of power with every sincerity of purpose of heart and commitment. Borrowing this time will be judiciously used to the benefit of the talakawas, the mekunus and the palm wine tappers”.
Other senators who made contributions to the debate are Aliyu Sabi (APC Niger North), Sam Egwu ( PDP Ebonyi North), David Umaru ( APC Niger East), Binta Marshi Garba ( APC Adamawa North), Danjuma Lar ( PDP Kaduna South).
