Senator Jimoh Ibrahim advises Tinubu to create Ministry of Revenue
By Tunde Opalana
As the nation awaits Senate confirmation of the 48 ministerial nominees and possible assigning of portfolios to them this week, a serving senator, Jimoh Ibrahim, representing Ondo South senatorial district has advised President Bola Tinubu to create the Ministry of Revenue and assigned a competent hand to man the ministry.
The lawmaker advanced reasons for the creation of Revenue Ministry during a visit to President Tinubu at the presidential villa in Abuja .
Senator Ibrahim in a personally signed statement on Sunday, said when created, the ministry would serve as coordinating platform for all revenue generating agencies .
According to him , creating such ministry is indispensable for the nation to wangle its way out of the current socio-economic quagmire.
” There are many revenue generating agencies in Nigeria today without a coordinating body or platform.
” The Ministry of Finance is not giving the required mobilisation and coordination in this regard , hence , the need for Ministry of Revenue .
” Analogically , in Nigeria over the years , we have the Ministry of Finance more or less playing the role of Bursar disbursing all the monies remitted into national coffers by generating agencies but there is no Treasurer to keep proper records of revenues generated by the various affected agencies and give them the required impetus to generate more .
” Nigeria definitely needs a national treasurer to be symbolised by the Federal Ministry of Revenue when created “, he posited .
READ ALSO: Group alleges campaign of calumny against Mele Kyari
He added that the idea has been sold to President Bola Tinubu who according him , saw the need for it in line with his pedigree on improved revenue generation .
He posited further that the Ministry of Revenue when created , would serve as one of the strategies through which the nation’s debt could be defrayed by serving as window for improved revenue generation to fast-track the nation’s development.
” The nation’s debts of N77trn shouldn’t be a cause for worry considering the current debt to Gross Domestic Product ratio of less than 31 percent and required innovative ideas of defraying it “, he added.
