Nigeria losing $30bn annually from revenue leakages – Reps

The joint House of Representatives Committee on Finance, Banking and Currency, Monday said Nigeria lost about $30 billion from 2005 to 2019 annually from revenue leakages.

Chairman of the committee and co-chairman of the joint committee, Hon. James Faleke, disclosed this in his remarks at the commencement of the investigative hearing on the allegations.

He said: “The necessity and commencement of this investigation was as a result of growing problems in the financial management of all the God-given resources in our country, Nigeria, from our vast natural resources to the value added by these resources in the form of foreign exchange earnings and revenue generation etc. into these investment environment and opportunities.

“Thus, this committee deemed it imperative to investigate revenue leakages and loopholes in the system that have contributed to a loss of over $30 billion dollars in annual federation tax revenue between 2005 and 2019.

“The investigation therefore, was premised on the documents received from target agencies and companies in banking, oil exploration, engineering, procurement, construction, installation, marine transportations, manufacturing and telecommunications upon which the committee noted significant foreign exchange and revenue shortfall infractions against the Federal Republic of Nigeria by these stakeholders.

“This places an imperative need to put an end to, or at best, minimise all attributable infractions that have been instruments in the hands of some stakeholders in bringing economic woes to this country and her people.”

Interfacing with the representative of Citibank, Ngozi Omoke on the allegations, the committee accused the bank of not making remittances to the federation accounts from certain transactions.

The committee also picked holes in the presentation made by the representative of Fidelity Bank, Hassan Imam, saying there were many irregularities.