President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday directed a review of deductions and revenue retention practices by Nigeria’s major revenue-generating agencies, in a bid to boost public savings, improve spending efficiency, and unlock resources for growth.
The agencies include the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
Tinubu gave the directive during the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday in Abuja. The President’s directive was disclosed to journalists by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun.
According to Edun, President Tinubu specifically called for a reassessment of NNPC’s 30 per cent management fee and 30 per cent frontier exploration deduction under the Petroleum Industry Act. He tasked the Economic Management Team, chaired by Edun, to present actionable recommendations to FEC on the optimal way forward.
The President said the directive was part of efforts to sustain reforms that have dismantled economic distortions, restored policy credibility, enhanced resilience, and bolstered investor confidence.
According to him, these reforms have created a transparent, competitive business environment attractive to local and foreign investors in critical sectors such as infrastructure, oil and gas, health, and manufacturing.
Reaffirming the Renewed Hope Agenda, Tinubu said Nigeria’s goal of a $1tn economy by 2030 requires growth of at least seven per cent annually from 2027 — a target he described as “not just economic, but a moral imperative,” as higher growth is the surest path to tackling poverty.
He cited the July 2025 International Monetary Fund Article IV report, which he said endorsed Nigeria’s economic trajectory and the need for investment-led growth.
On grassroots empowerment, the President pointed to the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme — a ward-based initiative covering all 8,809 wards across the country — designed to lift economically active citizens through micro-level poverty reduction strategies in collaboration with states, local governments, and private partners.
Tinubu noted that public investment accounts for just five per cent of Gross Domestic Product due to low savings, stressing that optimising “every available naira” is vital, especially under current global liquidity constraints.
Edun said macroeconomic indicators were improving, with a more stable exchange rate, easing inflation, rising revenues, and debt-to-GDP ratios now within range. He described savings as the foundation of investment and said the President’s directive aims to quickly raise public sector savings by reviewing deductions and retention practices.
Meanwhile, Edun said he presented two memoranda to Council — a $125m Islamic Development Bank financing for infrastructure in Abia State, covering 35 kilometres of roads in Umuahia and 126 kilometres in Aba; and a plan to refinance N4tn in outstanding electricity sector obligations.
The electricity debt resolution will be executed in phases, with the first phase expected within three to four weeks under the coordination of the Debt Management Office and other agencies.
According to the talking points by President Bola Tinubu obtained by our correspondent, he commended members of the Federal Executive Council for implementing bold reforms “that have dismantled longstanding distortions in our economy and restored policy credibility.”
Tinubu said the reforms have enhanced economic resilience, restored macroeconomic stability, created a transparent and competitive business environment, and bolstered investor confidence.
“As a result, our economy is now better positioned to attract both domestic and foreign private investment-investment that is critical to stimulating sustained growth, creating decent jobs, and lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty.
“Our Renewed Hope Agenda remains focused on achieving a $1tn economy by the year 2030. To realise this vision, we must now accelerate our efforts to achieve a minimum growth rate of 7.0 per cent by 2027,” Tinubu said.
According to him, stimulating higher growth is the only sustainable path to solving the poverty challenge in Nigeria. “The recent IMF Article IV Report, published in July 2025, also affirms this trajectory and underscores the importance of investment-led growth.
“In line with our commitment to inclusive development, I recently launched the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme-a ward-based initiative covering all 8,809 wards across the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria.
“This programme is close to my heart. It is designed to empower active grassroots economic players, using a micro-level approach to tackle poverty. We aim to bring sub-national governments and private sector partners on board to ensure efficient and impactful implementation,” he stated.
He urged governors to accelerate growth by prioritising productivity-enhancing investments, strengthening food security, and deepening collaboration with local governments to address the poverty challenge and ensuring that no Nigerian is left behind.
Speaking on savings and investment as catalysts for growth, the President emphasized the critical role of savings in catalyzing investment and growth. “Currently, public investment as a share of GDP stands at a low 5.0 per cent, largely due to insufficient public savings.
“We must urgently review and optimize our savings. This includes enhancing spending efficiency and reviewing deductions from the Federation Account, such as the cost of collection by revenue agencies, such as FIRS, Customs, NUPRC, and NIMASA, etc.
“There is also the need to reassess the 30 per cent management fee and the 30 per cent frontier exploration deduction by NNPC based on the Petroleum Industry Act. We must optimise every available Naira to sustain our momentum and finance our growth trajectory-especially in a time of global liquidity constraints.
“Accordingly, I am directing the Economic Management Team, chaired by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, to conduct a comprehensive review of all deductions and revenue retention practices, and present actionable recommendations to this Council for an optimal way forward.”
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