FOR THE RECORDS: REMARK BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, HIS EXCELLENCY (DR.) ABUBAKAR BUKOLA SARAKI, AT THE PUBLIC HEARING ORGANISED BY THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON CUSTOMS, EXCISE & TARIFF ON THE CUSTOMS AND EXCISE MANAGEMENT ACT (REPEAL & RE- ENACTMENT) BILL, 2016.

By Sunny Anderson Osiebe...

 

Protocol;

 

It is my pleasure to welcome you our invited Guests to the very important public hearing on the bill on Customs and Excise Management Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) 2016. 

 

The 8th Senate is determined to ensure that no stone is left unturned in ensuring that the Customs and Excise department plays the pivotal role it is expected to play as a major funder of the Federal budget. It is for this reason that we waste no time in assigning the proposed bill to the Committee on Customs and Excise for immediate action.

 

 

It is for the very critical role that the custom plays in the economic and security life of our country that we have made this bill one of our key priority bills. 

The Customs remain one of the most important sources of government revenues. With government revenues dwindling rapidly at a time when we have so much to do, this has further made the need for us to block all leakages and possible inefficiency points in our revenue profile an urgent national duty. 

When the 8th Senate came on board, we promised that we would seek to introduce new laws to improve revenue generation, curb corruption, improve on accountability and governance. This bill is one of those bills, which even our private sector has identified as critically important to doing business, and relates significantly to the cost of doing business in general.

This bill clearly represents a clear message from the Senate that we are ready to do what it takes to empower our revenue agencies to perform their duty to ensure that our country’s economy continues to competitively perform even in the face of dwindling oil market prospects. We are determined and are ready to retool our laws to achieve a more diversified Nigerian economy driven by innovative private sector and efficient government support. The operations of the Customs will be key by injecting transparency and accountability in the revenue systems. 

Let me use this opportunity to reiterate the resolve of the 8th National Assembly to work with the Executive to plug all observed revenue leakages in the system no matter where they may be coming from. 

 

I therefore urge you as you deliberate on this bill, to come up with opinions that would help us build a more resilient, 21st century custom and excise regime that would serve our need for a stronger Nigerian economy, accountability and effectiveness. 

 Finally, let me thank each and every one that has made it here today for your patriotism. I am hopeful that we will achieve our goal here, which is to brainstorm on this piece of legislation, to see how best to achieve our overarching goal of using legislation to enable our people build a new Nigerian economy. I am very confident that the personalities in this room will provide the desired makeover that will help in addressing grey areas identified in the bill to ensure we get it right. 

The Senate on its part, is determined to pass into law a robust piece of legislation that will last the test of time.

On this note it is my pleasure to now declareopen this public hearing on the Customs & Excise Management Act (Repeal & Re- Enactment) Bill, 2016.

 

I wish you very fruitful deliberations.

 

 

PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE

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