On Tuesday, the House of Representatives expressed grave concern over the lack of transparency in collecting revenue accruing to various Nigerian foreign missions worldwide.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, Hon. Bamidele Salam, voiced his displeasure while addressing the Accountant General of the Federation (AuGF) during an investigative hearing into the status of automation for foreign currency collection in Nigeria’s Foreign Missions.
The initiative to automate currency collection in Nigeria’s Foreign Missions aims to provide the Federal Government with adequate control over revenue generated in foreign currency and to ensure transparency and accountability.
According to the Accountant General of the Federation, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Sakirat, Files Solutions Limited was awarded a contract for automating foreign currency collection at Nigeria’s foreign missions worldwide.
The contract, worth N83.6 million, was awarded on April 28, 2021, for a duration of five years, in addition to a commission ranging from 1% to 5% based on the amount collected by the company.
Mrs. Sakirat stated that 90 percent, totaling N75.2 million, of the payment has already been made to the contractor.
She explained that the terms of the contract require the contractor to ensure that revenue collection from all Nigerian foreign missions is conducted online in real-time, including the development of a multi-currency conversion web portal and a multi-language web portal.
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“The Automation of Foreign Currency Collection portal was launched on May 25, 2023, by the immediate past Minister of Finance but was not put into use as of June 5, 2024,” she said.
“Our office is currently seeking approval from the Ministry of Finance to deploy the software, which has been tested. Discussions are ongoing with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide a list of foreign missions for pilot purposes.”
In his remarks, Hon. Timehin Adelegbe asserted that the lack of transparency in foreign revenue collection needs to be addressed, and that automation will help rectify this issue.
Reacting to the delay in deploying the automation system, Hon. Salam said, “I don’t understand why we work like this as a country.
We are somewhat peculiar. We talk about improving revenue collection, even though we fund our budget with almost 60 to 70 percent borrowing, and yet we ignore solutions that would enhance revenue collection.
How can a country that borrows more than 70 percent to fund its budget ignore a solution that would improve revenue collection? I am unsure how much of the funds intended for the 2024 budget we currently have.
We are unable to fund the budget partly because the money is not available; so we must all work together to improve our revenue. This situation cannot continue.”
One of the aggrieved lawmakers, accusing officials of sabotage, claimed, “Some people don’t want it to work, and this aligns with what the Honorable Minister of Finance hinted recently—that some individuals do not want things to improve and will find ways to ensure that they don’t.”
“If a contract was awarded in 2021 and it is now 2024, with the technology deployment still pending, it indicates a need for improvement.”
Concerned by the situation, the lawmakers unanimously supported the immediate implementation of the Automation of Foreign Currency Collection for Nigeria’s foreign missions within 60 days, with no extension allowed.
The Public Accounts Committee also directed the Accountant General to submit records of the gross revenue generated by all foreign missions over the past five years.
