House Tackles FAAN, MDAs Over Revenue Remittance

Source: thewillnigeria.com

BEVERLY HILLS, February 24, (THEWILL) - The House of Representatives Monday described as unacceptable the non- remittance of internally generated revenue by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government.

The House Committee on Finance led by Hon.
Abdulmumin Jibrin stated this at its interactive session with revenue generating agencies.

Chairman of the committee, Jibrin, particularly queried the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) for violating rules on remittance and failing to remit Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from 2011 to 2013 running into billions of naira.

FAAN's Director of Communication and Business Development, Mr.

Adeniyi Balogun, had told the committee that the agency remitted N130million out of N36.

1billion in 2013.
The committee noted that FAAN has fallen short of complying with the 25 percent remittance policy on gross collection by MDAs into the CRF.

But Balogun explained that the operational cost incurred by FAAN coupled with non- availability of statutory allocation was responsible for the poor remittance that was flatly rejected by the lawmakers who directed the agency to re-submit its proposal on Wednesday.

This explanation incensed the committee chairman who querried: "Where did you get the approval to do that, and what part of the law did you rely on to spend such monies.

Are you aware of any policy on the need to remit 25 percent of your gross collection, which equally means you are expected to reduce your expenditure down by 25 percent? "Why expend monies you are expected to remit? All agencies have one kind of expenditure to embark on but it has to be in line with the provisions of the law.

What you have been doing all this while is in breach of the law, and we can't continue this way.

Go and put up an explanation, stating what law allows you to do what you do as a justification for your action.

" SAINT MUGAGA, ABUJA