Goli Innocent 
The Federal Government has said that all are in place to facilitate the use of mobile phones of Nigerians in the transfer of the 15 million households’ conditional cash transfer programme.
The President of the Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee chaired by Taiwo Oyedele made this known in a “quick win” recommendation submitted to President Bola Tinubu.
Subsequently, the Reforms Committee recommended that the government engage in the use of citizens’ mobile phones to validate and ease the transfer of funds.
As part of its efforts to lessen the impact of the elimination of subsidies, the Presidency proposed last week a plan to provide 15 million households with an N75,000 cash transfer.
The goal, according to the federal government, is to help as many families as possible escape poverty.
The paper noted that a national gateway would be created to track spending by the federal, state, and municipal governments, albeit it is not clear how this procedure will be carried out.
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Taiwo Oyedele wrote on X, saying, “The main recommendations are to create a framework for spending on the removal of subsidies and windfall from the forex reform, including a national portal to monitor spending by the federal government, states, and local governments, and to facilitate the use of mobile phones for conditional cash transfers.”
Furthermore, it is alleged that the federal government suspends several taxes, especially in the unorganised sector, which hinders the expansion of small enterprises across the nation.
Numerous taxes that harm small enterprises and the impoverished are suspended and replaced with surplus funds from specific agencies.
Part of the statement is, “Increase personal income tax exempt threshold and personal relief allowance.”
The President has since issued an executive order directing the immediate implementation of the “quick win” suggestions in all federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
In a press release issued after meeting the committee, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, conveyed that the President had instructed his Adviser on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, to coordinate with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Oyedele to implement the directive.
He emphasized the importance of a seamless and synchronized implementation process by instructing that the recommendations be fully incorporated across government institutions.
Furthermore, he revealed that the President committed to prioritizing the presentation of these recommendations during the next Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting scheduled for the upcoming Monday.
“After hearing the committee chairman’s presentation, the President gave Hadiza Bala Usman, the Special Advisor to the President on Policy Coordination, instructions to communicate with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Chairman of the Tax Policy Review Committee to make sure that the committee’s recommendations are promptly and thoroughly implemented throughout all federal departments, agencies, and ministries to guarantee that there is efficient coordination and that all federal institutions are in agreement regarding the implementation of tax policy.
“From now on, His Excellency The President has also provided a means for the tax policy review committee’s proposals to be given high priority during Monday’s Federal Executive Council meeting.
The emphasis will remain on Mr. President’s continued emphasis on the significance of making sure that our tax authorities are taxing the fruit rather than the seed, he stated.
