The Nigeria Governors’ Forum led by Governor Kayode Fayemi, has pledged to expand the country’s aggregate tax revenue by up to 200%.
The governors said this during their second meeting of the year which held on Wednesday in Abuja while deliberating on several matters of national importance.
They said members received a presentation from the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Service (FIRS) and Chairman of the Joint Tax Board (JTB), Mr. Muhammad M. Nami, on the national Data for Tax Initiative.
According to the governors, the Data for Tax (D4T) initiative envisages an ecosystem where financial and non-financial data on all individuals and economic transactions will be collated into a central National Tax Data Bank with the National Identification Number (NIN) as the primary unifying code.
“Members pledged their support for the project which is aimed at expanding the country’s tax net to at least 90% of all eligible taxable persons and committed to collaborating with the JTB to increase the country’s aggregate tax revenue by up to 200% as envisaged,” a communique released at the end of the meeting read in part.
They also deliberated on the establishment of farm settlement estates for groups of smallholder producers to increase the supply of farm inputs as well as access to produce at the markets.
See the full communique below.
Communiqué Issued At The End Of The 2nd Meeting Of The Nigeria Governors’ Forum Held
We, the members of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum at our second meeting of the year 2022, deliberated on several matters of national importance and concluded as follows:
1. Members received a presentation from the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Service (FIRS) and Chairman of the Joint Tax Board (JTB), Mr. Muhammad M. Nami, on the national Data for Tax Initiative.
The Data for Tax (D4T) initiative envisages an ecosystem where financial and non-financial data on all individuals and economic transactions will be collated into a central National Tax Data Bank with the National Identification Number (NIN) as the primary unifying code. Members pledged their support for the project which is aimed at expanding the country’s tax net to at least 90% of all eligible taxable persons and committed to collaborating with the JTB to increase the country’s aggregate tax revenue by up to 200% as envisaged.
2. The National Convenor of the UN Food Systems and Permanent Secretary of Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Olusola Idowu, delivered a presentation on the National Pathway to Food Systems Transformation.
The role of Governors in the plan is to prioritize the establishment of farm settlement estates for groups of smallholder producers, including women and youths, to increase the supply of farm inputs, the use of machinery, access to extension services, and market access.
The Forum affirmed its commitment to the ideals of the programme which many states are already pursuing and committed to working with the Federal Government to expand the development of these settlements across the country.
3. Mr Alex Okoh, Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), briefed the State governors on the proposed sale of five (5) power plants under the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC). The presentation was part of the consultative process with State governments who are shareholders of the plants.
4. The Forum also received a presentation on the status of the country’s digital identification programme from Engr. Aliyu A. Aziz, Director General/Chief Executive Officer of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
To strengthen the national enrolment exercise which has so far seen the issuance of over 74 million national identification numbers (NIN) to Nigerians across the country, Governors pledged to support the programme through a string of measures, including support for sensitization activities, integration of NIN in state services and collaboration with telecoms providers to improve network infrastructure for sustained identity registration and authentication. Governors re-echoed the need to complete the harmonization and integration of databases, to reduce the carriage of multiple identifications (IDs) by citizens noting that being able to uniquely identify persons is extremely important for social security and cross-state border management. NIMC is to liaise with State Governments through its various State Coordinators in addition to working with the NGF Secretariat.
5. A programme update on NG-CARES was delivered by the NGF Secretariat’s Programme Manager, Mrs. Firo Elhassan Kaka, on the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) programme. All 36 States of the federation have already received letters of eligibility for the programme, and all results achieved by the States with effect from June 2020 are eligible for verification as prior results. These will be assessed for re- imbursement at the next verification exercise.
6. The NGF Secretariat’s Health Adviser, Dr. Ahmad Abdulwahab also delivered an update on the country’s health security interventions, particularly on the COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Project (COPREP) and the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHPF). Members also discussed the status of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lassa fever outbreak, the need to improve the quality of Polio campaigns, as well as the setup of State Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance Services (SEMSA) with accredited health facilities and requisite personnel.
7. From the 23rd – 25th February 2022, State governors will be joined by a delegation from Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, with the aim of deepening the government’s engagement on routine immunization, health system strengthening and COVID19 vaccination in the country.
8. Finally, the Forum congratulated the outgoing Governor of Anambra State Mr. Willie Obiano who joined the NGF meeting for the last time before he hands over to his successor Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo on 17th March 2022. Governor Obiano was applauded by his colleagues for his impressive performance in Anambra State and his contributions to the growth of the Nigeria Governorsa’ Forum, and particularly for significantly enhancing governance outcomes for the people of Anambra State and for overseeing a smooth transition to the incoming governor.
