President Bola Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive review of deductions and revenue retention practices by Nigeria’s top-earning agencies to boost public savings, improve spending efficiency, and free up funds for economic growth.
The directive, issued at Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja, covers the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Briefing journalists after the meeting, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said the President specifically called for a reassessment of NNPCL’s 30 per cent management fee and 30 per cent frontier exploration deduction under the Petroleum Industry Act. Tinubu tasked the Economic Management Team, chaired by Edun, to present actionable recommendations to FEC on the optimal path forward.
Tinubu said the move is part of ongoing economic reforms designed to dismantle structural distortions, restore policy credibility, strengthen resilience, and build investor confidence. He noted that these reforms have already created a more transparent and competitive business environment, attracting domestic and foreign investment to sectors such as infrastructure, oil and gas, healthcare, and manufacturing.
Reaffirming his Renewed Hope Agenda, the President restated Nigeria’s goal of achieving a $1 trillion economy by 2030, requiring annual GDP growth of at least seven per cent from 2027. He described this target as “not just economic, but a moral imperative,” stressing that sustained high growth is the surest route to poverty reduction.
Citing the July 2025 International Monetary Fund Article IV report, Tinubu said Nigeria’s economic direction had received international endorsement, with the IMF backing the country’s shift toward investment-led growth.
On grassroots development, the President highlighted the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme, which will cover all 8,809 wards nationwide. The initiative, implemented in collaboration with states, local governments, and private partners, aims to economically empower citizens through micro-level poverty reduction strategies.
Tinubu expressed concern that public investment accounts for only five per cent of GDP due to low savings, stressing that optimising “every available naira” is vital under current global liquidity constraints.
Edun noted that macroeconomic indicators are improving, with a more stable exchange rate, easing inflation, higher revenues, and debt-to-GDP ratios now within sustainable ranges. He said the President’s directive would accelerate the growth of public savings by reforming revenue deductions and retention structures.
The minister also presented two memoranda to the FEC. The first was for a $125 million Islamic Development Bank facility for infrastructure in Abia State, covering 35 kilometres of roads in Umuahia and 126 kilometres in Aba. The second was a plan to refinance N4 trillion in outstanding electricity sector obligations.
According to Edun, the electricity debt resolution will be phased, with the first stage expected within three to four weeks under the coordination of the Debt Management Office and other agencies.
