The Executive vice chairman, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, Mr Babatunde Irukera, says the agency has a target revenue of 14.3 billion naira for 2023.
Mr Irukera made this known at a hearing on the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework/Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Finance in Abuja.
The FCCPC boss said that before assuming office in April 2017, the commission had zero remittance into government coffers but under his watch at the end of 2017, the sum of N41million was remitted and that N34million was remitted at the end of 2018.
Irukera stated that in 2019, after the establishment law was amended, N98million was remitted and the commission pulled out from being funded by the treasury and became self-funded.
The FCCPC boss also said that in 2021, the sum of N1.3 billion was remitted and that in 2022, a total sum of N1.6 billion Naira had been so far remitted.
“As of this year, we have given the government N1.2 billion and we will give more; our revenue target for 2023 is N14.3 billion, I feel relatively confident that we will be close or hit the target. We, however, need to find a balance, we are not a revenue generating agency, and we must not be portrayed or perceived as doing our work so revenue will come in,” he said.
Reacting to issues of expenditures raised by the committee in an earlier sitting, Irukera said it was a hazard allowance paid to members of staff who go out on surveillance and enforcement.
According to the FCCPC boss, they are exposed to so many dangers especially when they face loan sharks and digital lenders that send defamatory messages in the country.
He noted that the agency was no longer a revenue generating agency per se, as the National Assembly has altered the agency’s enabling law from 80 to 50 percent remittance of IGR to government.
The Vice Chairman of the committee, Mr Abdullahi Saidu, commended the agency for its achievements despite some of the challenges it is facing.
Mr Abdullahi observed that the agency is capable of surpassing its target annually as against the N1.2 billion it remitted to the government coffers last year.
The lawmker and other committee members also lashed out at some of the invited agencies at the investigative hearing who had failed to render the annual audited accounts to the Fiscal Responsibility Commission FRC in accordance with the provisions of the law.
Hauwa Abu
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