To optimize public finances, President Bola Tinubu has ordered a review of the deductions and revenue retention practices of Nigeria’s key revenue-generating agencies.
This strategic move seeks to increase public savings, enhance spending efficiency, and release vital resources for growth.
The review will encompass the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
On Wednesday in Abuja, President Tinubu gave a directive during the Federal Executive Council meeting.
The President’s directive was made public by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, who briefed journalists.
According to Edun, Tinubu specifically instructed a reassessment of NNPC’s 30 per cent management fee and 30 per cent frontier exploration deduction under the Petroleum Industry Act.
The President directed the Economic Management Team, chaired by Edun, to submit actionable recommendations to FEC on the most effective way forward.
The President noted that this directive was part of efforts to sustain reforms that have removed economic distortions, restored policy credibility, enhanced resilience, and bolstered investor confidence.
According to him, these reforms have created a transparent, competitive business environment that is attractive to local and foreign investors in critical sectors such as infrastructure, oil and gas, health, and manufacturing.
Reaffirming the Renewed Hope Agenda, Tinubu stressed that Nigeria’s aspiration of a $1 trillion economy by 2030 requires sustained annual growth of at least seven per cent from 2027, a target he termed “not just economic, but a moral imperative.”
He referred to the July 2025 International Monetary Fund Article IV report, which approved Nigeria’s economic trajectory and highlighted the importance of investment-led growth.
Regarding grassroots empowerment, the President highlighted the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme, a ward-based initiative encompassing all 8,809 wards nationwide, aimed at economically empowering citizens through micro-level poverty reduction strategies in conjunction with states, local governments, and private partners.
Tinubu emphasized that public investment constitutes merely five percent of Gross Domestic Product due to low savings, underscoring the importance of optimizing “every available naira”, particularly amidst current global liquidity constraints.
Edun noted that macroeconomic indicators were showing improvement, marked by a more stable exchange rate, decreasing inflation, increasing revenues, and debt-to-GDP ratios within acceptable limits.
He emphasized the importance of savings as a basis for investment, stating that the President’s directive aimed to rapidly increase public sector savings by reassessing deductions and retention practices.
Edun revealed that he presented two memoranda to the Council, comprising a $125 million Islamic Development Bank financing arrangement for infrastructure projects in Abia State, spanning 35 kilometers of roads in Umuahia and 126 kilometers in Aba; and a strategy to refinance N4 trillion in outstanding electricity sector liabilities.
The electricity debt resolution initiative will be executed in phases, with the first phase expected to commence within three to four weeks, under the auspices of the Debt Management Office and other stakeholders.
