We’ll stop revenue theft with e-collection – FG

The Federal Government on Tuesday said the introduction of its electronic revenue collection platform was aimed at checking theft and diversion of collected revenue, and all sorts of corrupt practices associated with the collection process.
The Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Jonah Otunla, stated this in Abuja during a sensitisation workshop for Federal Government parastatals, departments and agencies. The House of Representatives had in an investigative report on unremitted revenue last year said that 60 revenue generating agencies of the Federal Government collected money but failed to remit over N9.4tn to the coffers of the government between 2009 and 2012. The Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Abulmumin Jibrin, had said of the N3.06tn the agencies generated in 2009, only N46.8bn, representing 1.53 per cent, was remitted to the government. In 2010, the sum of N3.07tn was generated, but only N54.1bn or 1.76 per cent was remitted; and in 2011, the generated revenue stood at N3.17tn, out of which N73.8bn or 2.33 per cent was remitted Otunla told the agencies that the implementation of the e-collection project, which begun on January 1 this year, was meant to enthrone a new regime of centralised, transparent and accountable internally generated revenue management system
He said, “We are witnesses to how monies collected on behalf of the government are either unremitted or not remitted in full.
“The introduction of e-collection will enthrone a new regime of accountability and transparency in the government revenue collection process.” He said under the new initiative, the Federal Government would move all the revenue accounts of its Ministries, Departments and Agencies to the Central Bank of Nigeria. Otunla added, “The Treasury and the CBN have a duty to ensure that government’s cash resources are well managed both for fiscal and monetary policy reasons. We are committed to achieving this objective without obstructing the smooth running of the affected parastatals. “There is no better time to introduce the e-collection system than now due to the sharp drop in oil revenue arising from shrinking market for Nigerian crude oil and falling oil prices, among others. “With e-collection, we intend to increase government’s cash flow through direct and real time remittance of all inflow to the CBN.”