NATIONAL ASSEMBLY LIAISON AND PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE
COMMUNIQUÉ ON THE 26TH PLENARY SESSION
The 26th Plenary Session of the Commission was held on 14th -15th September 2005 in the Commission. The Session was led by the Chairman, Engr. Hamman A. Tukur mni OFR. The following issues were discussed and resolved:
REVENUE GENERATING AGENCIES
The Session considered the recent decision to pay 4 percent and 7 percent of non-oil Revenue to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Custom Service (NCS), respectively, as interim measures adapted to salvage the two agencies from financial predicaments.
STATE JOINT LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNT
On the State Joint Local Government Account monitoring, the Session received and considered the consolidated report for the months of June and July. It was noted that while there is full compliance in some states others are trying to streamline their accounting procedures according to the law on the Joint Account. The new Act declares it unlawful for any organ, authority or official of a state or of FCT, to alter, deduct or reallocate funds to the credit of the State Joint Local Government Account. The Act also stipulates severe punishments for contravention of the new law, which include fine and terms of imprisonment. The session was also mindful of the court cases by some states against the law.
FUNDS DUE TO FEDERATION ACCOUNT
While acknowledging some commendable steps taken by the revenue agencies in their revenue drive, the Session enjoins the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to always remit revenues in their custody to the Federation Account. It also urged the NNPC to always include Oil Subsidy in their annual budget proposals. These, the Session noted, are for the purposes of accountability and transparency in their operations.
EXTERNAL DEBT
The nation’s External Debt and the Paris Club offer of relief was also reviewed by the Plenary Session. It welcomed the new development and recognized the need for the Debt Management Office (DMO) to carry out further reconciliation, particularly with some of the state governments in order to arrive at more accurate figures.
INPUT FOR 2006 BUDGET
With the high crude oil prices throughout the year, the Commission wishes that the benchmark for crude oil prices and exchange rate in 2006 would be more realistic so as to sustain the nation’s economic growth. It strongly recommends the following parameters be considered while preparing the 2006 budget.
i) Benchmark on Oil Revenue - $40.00per barrel
ii) Exchange rate - N132.85/$1.00
iii) Crude Oil Production - 2.5 Million barrel per day
(60% of export Crude should be
in line with OPEC Quota of about 2.5bpd)
Senator Mohammed D. Alkali
(Sardauna of Gumel)
Chairman NAPRC