Tinubu Orders Review Of FIRS, Customs, NNPC Deductions

President Bola Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive review of all deductions and revenue retention practices by major revenue-generating agencies.

These agencies include the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).

The directive, given at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday in Abuja, is aimed at optimising public savings, enhancing spending efficiency, and freeing up more resources to finance growth.

Tinubu specifically called for a reassessment of NNPC’s 30% management fee and 30% frontier exploration deduction provided under the Petroleum Industry Act.

The President expressed appreciation for members of the Council for their commitment and hard work in implementing bold and difficult reforms that have dismantled longstanding economic distortions, restored policy credibility, enhanced resilience, and bolstered investor confidence.

He said these reforms had created a transparent, competitive business environment that now positions Nigeria to attract more domestic and foreign investment in critical sectors such as infrastructure, oil and gas, health, and manufactured exports.

Reaffirming his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, Tinubu said the target remains to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030. To achieve this, he stressed that the economy must grow by at least 7% annually from 2027.

He described the growth target as “not just an economic target but a moral imperative,” noting that higher growth is the only sustainable path to tackling poverty.

Tinubu also cited the July 2025 IMF Article IV report, which he said affirms Nigeria’s economic trajectory and underlines the importance of investment-led growth.

The President highlighted the launch of the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme, a ward-based initiative covering all 8,809 wards across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.

The programme is designed to empower economically active individuals at the grassroots through a micro-level poverty reduction approach.

Tinubu said the initiative would involve subnational governments and private sector partners to ensure efficient and impactful implementation.

Tinubu emphasised that public investment currently accounts for only 5% of GDP due to low public savings, noting that optimising every available naira was critical to sustaining momentum and financing growth, especially in a period of global liquidity constraints.

Accordingly, he directed the Economic Management Team, chaired by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, to review all deductions from the Federation Account, including cost of collection by FIRS, Customs, NUPRC, and NIMASA, as well as NNPC’s charges.

The team is to present actionable recommendations to FEC for the optimal way forward.

Speaking after the meeting, Edun said macroeconomic stability indicators are improving, with exchange rates stabilising, inflation coming down, revenues rising, and debt-to-GDP ratios coming within range.

He added that Nigeria is now seen as an attractive investment destination across multiple sectors, aided by a competitive exchange rate.

Edun reiterated that savings are the foundation for investment, whether from domestic sources or foreign inflows, and that the President’s charge is to urgently raise public sector savings.

This, he said, will involve reviewing deductions and revenue retention practices to make more funds available for investment.

Edun said he also presented two memos for $125 million Islamic Development Bank financing for infrastructure in Abia State, covering about 35 kilometres of roads in Umuahia and 126 kilometres in Aba, and another on refinancing ₦4 trillion in outstanding electricity sector obligations.

According to him, the electricity sector debt resolution will be implemented in phases under the expert management of the Debt Management Office and other relevant agencies with the first is expected to be completed within three to four weeks.