2023 Budget: Senate okays removal of FIRS, NCC, 8 other Government-owned enterprises »

The Senate has okayed the removal of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and 8 other Government-owned Enterprises (GoEs) from 2023 national budget.

This is as the 2023 national budget was benchmarked at N19.76 trillion.

The decision of the Senate was sequel to the report of the MTEF/FSP submitted by the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Adeola Olamilekan, which was considered on Wednesday.

The affected agencies are: Federal Inland Revenue Service, (FIRS), Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

Others include Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMPDRA) and Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

According to the report: “That 10 out of the 63 GOEs be placed on cost of collections to serve as a test case for other GOEs which can be added in the future. The list of these GOEs include , NCC, CAC, NPA, NIMASA, NUPRC, FIRS, CUSTOMS, NMPDRA, JAMB, NAFDAC, with immediate effect with the proposed finance bill 2023 coming up with the amendment of the existing Act of the above mentioned agencies.”

Meanwhile, the breakdown of aggregated 2023 expenditure comprises of a Total Recurrent (Non-debt) of N8.53 trillion; Personnel Costs (MDAs) of N827.8 billion; Capital expenditure (exclusive of transfers) N3.96 trillion; Special Intervention (recurrent) amounting to N350 billion; and Special intervention (capital) of N7 billion.

GoEs are establishments with the capacity to fund their operations.