– Finance minister Adeosun speaks on billions of naira the federal government has disbursed so far
– Nigerians will soon start enjoying dividends of democracy
– Federal government has spent about N400 billion so far on various capital projects
Kemi Adeousn, minister of finance stated that the government of the federation was planning to pump aabout N60 billion for capital projects to drive the economy.
The finance minister revealed this on Friday, August 19 at Abuja, the nation’s federal capital at a one on one session with journalists
Adeosun said when the money is injected into the economy, it will increase the money already pumped into the economy by the Buhari-led administration to N400 billion since May this year.
The minister of finance stated that contractors have been settled the money they were owed and will resume to work, adding that in a short while, the citizens will start to feel the positive effect of the the government’s plans and policies.
“So far we have spent N400 billion on capital, that is between May when the budget was signed and now; we are going for another capital allocation meeting where we are going to allocate another N60 billion.
“So, we are pumping money into the economy at a very rapid rate, but it would take a little time for the effect to be felt.” Adeosun stated.
The finance minister made it known that that the government was encouraged by some results it was getting, adding that, states known for agriculture were returning to farming and have began to make money from it.
Adeosun emphasised on her hope of a huge harvest of crops, while saying storage facilities like silos, were being put in place to prevent loss of any harvest.
The finance minister likewise stated that for people in the country to survive the current economic crunch, corruption has to be eradicated completely and that infrastructure has to be built to create employment.
“Fighting corruption is fundamental and if we stick with that and all the money stolen or diverted is directed at projects that could grow the economy, we would recover.” Adeosun said.
Adeosun informed that a tax committee had been set up to revolutionise the entire tax system in Nigeria.
On the other hand, the finance minister informed that the idea to tax luxury items was not a policy because there was no constitutional provision to tax the items.
Adeosun informed that the Joint Tax Board (JTB) was working to harmonise taxes that were overlapping among federal, states and local governments.
She said:“It is part of the ease of doing business initiative because these are some of the things that cause businesses to close down.
“It puts one off and even in the Federal Government, we are working on various revenues and looking at who is the best agent to collect revenue.”
In a news report on Thursday, August 18, vice president Yemi Osinbajo took time off after a detailed session with private sector stakeholders to engage journalists also on the direction of the Nigerian economy.
No comments :
Post a Comment