The minister of finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, yesterday said the
nation’s economy has started moving out recession as President Muhammadu
Buhari’s- led administration was bringing a lot of efficiency into
government spending and infrastructure.
Speaking during a flagship programme of Covenant Christian Centre in
Lagos, the minister said the government in the short- term has to borrow
and invest in infrastructure rather than wait for the global oil prices
to recover.
According to her, the country in the past has little to show for all the
oil revenues of boom years and questioned the past administrations on
roads, power plants, and infrastructures constructed.
She said when global oil prices were $110, the federal government was
borrowing to pay salaries but today, “Our borrowing is to invest
infrastructure.
“Today we’re trying to do a lot more with lot less. That’s the
summary of our agenda.If we’d invested our oil boom in the things that
matters- road, rail, power- we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
She noted that the Development Bank of Nigeria(DBN) has taken off, to
support small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and federal
government has reviewed and repositioned the YouWiN!Connect Enterprise
Programme.
The minster explained that government was blocking leakages in
Customs revenue collection with huge investment in scanners, and in a
long overdue Single Window system.
Adeosun said the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has identified
more than 800,000 companies currently not paying taxes across the
country
She said the country’s Tax-to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio was among the lowest in the world.
“Nigeria’s tax-to- GDP ratio is six per cent, one of the lowest in
the world Only 214 people paying tax greater than N20million. We are
working to change that.”
The minister commended President Buhari and his vice president, Yemi
Osinbajo for their commitment in bringing lasting change to the masses.
