FG moves to improve revenue generation, block tax leakages ― Ahmed

Zainab Ahmed, Finance Minister

The Federal Government is taking steps to improve internally generated revenue, block tax leakages, create new tax sources, and promote effective tax collection.

It is also prioritising fiscal policies and reforms aimed at providing short and medium-term relief as well as addressing the longstanding challenge of domestic revenue mobilisation.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, who stated this Thursday noted that the action is due to the increasing fiscal and domestic revenue constraints of the country.

Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi, Special Adviser, Media & Communications to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, said Mrs Ahmed made this known in her goodwill message at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) event themed: ‘Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow’.

She said: “The economic and social empowerment of women and girls is critical to our collective vision of a prosperous and resilient Nigeria.”

In her words: “If we are to have a stronger and more inclusive economy, it is crucial that we take a long term and strategic approach to ensuring that women are economically empowered.

“We must continue working towards the development and implementation of policies, regulatory frameworks, and programmes that are inclusive and gender-sensitive; and we must remove the socio-economic and cultural barriers that prevent women from participating fully in society and from reaping the economic benefits of their participation.”

Mrs Ahmed said that funding and gender-sensitive fiscal policies are critical, as are credible disaggregate data and impact monitoring and evaluation.

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According to her, effort at earning more revenue is being achieved in part through continued implementation of the Strategic Revenue Generation Initiative (SRGI), and through continued incremental fiscal reforms via the introduction of annual Finance Bills, as well as reducing administrative inefficiencies and lowering the overall cost of governance.

“Through the implementation of the annual Finance Acts, we are providing tax relief and other support to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), many of which are women-owned,” she said.

Additionally, the recently finalised medium-term National Development Plan (NDP), she also stated, was developed with a gender lens, the same as the long term NDP currently being finalised.

“We at the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning are focusing on comprehensive gender mainstreaming across fiscal policy and public financial management.

“This wholistic approach represents a critical paradigm shift towards systematic and scalable reforms, and leverages the coordinated benefits of having the finance, budgeting and planning functionalities under the same federal ministry for the first time in Nigeria’s history.”

Mrs Ahmed also stated: “The interventions include gender-responsive budgeting, and assessments of the gender responsiveness of key fiscal interventions (including fiscal stimulus packages) with specific commitments aimed at improving the safety, livelihoods, and economic status of women and girls.”

Continuing, she said: “We have formally introduced a gender lens for our national budgets, with an express provision in the 2022 Budget Call Circular mandating the use of gender-responsive budgeting in the preparation of the national budget.”

Mrs Ahmed noted that the county is developing an Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) to strengthen the planning processes, and strategically identify and mobilise the resources required to finance the most recent medium and long term development plans.

“We are committed to ensuring that the INFF is gender-responsive, in line with overall government commitments around gender-responsive national development planning and financing.”

She noted that women’s social and economic empowerment remains critical to ensuring inclusive, resilient, and sustainable development in Nigeria, and to achieving shared goals as a nation.

“By empowering women and girls, and promoting their full participation in society (particularly in leadership and decision-making roles), we will be ensuring improved economic development outcomes for all,” Mrs Ahmed pointed out.

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