Agbakoba SAN tasks government on new revenue sources

Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has called on the government to explore new revenue sources to close budget deficits and promote economic growth.

This came as Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) said the country must block revenue leakages and stop Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) to reduce its debt accumulation.

Executive Director, CISLAC and Transparency International Nigeria, Auwal Rafsanjani, stated this at a one-day dialogue on the status of adoption of High Level Panel (HLP) report on IFFs in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja, yesterday.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, yesterday, Agbakoba stressed the need for laws that can generate revenue and create jobs.

He expressed concern that the population is outgrowing the economy and that critical steps are necessary to deal with revenue failure.

He noted that the public sector contributes little in terms of revenue but can put in a lot in terms of policy enablers, ease of doing business and legal innovations.

Agbakoba, who is the founder, Olisa Agbakoba Legal (OAL), proffered legal policy innovations on how government can generate revenue by reviewing critical legislation, policies and executive orders that can generate N100 trillion and five million jobs.

On trade policy, he stressed the importance of enacting legislation that will support the Nigerian Office for trade negotiation (NOTN).

He said: “To support local produce, the starting point is to enact trade remedies legislation. Trade remedies legislation imposes anti-dumping duties on dumped products. There is also counter-veiling special duties measures imposed on exports into Nigeria subsidised by a foreign country.

“The trade remedies legislation will also prohibit imports, if it is adjudged that they will cause material injury to local industries, for example by impeding growth. A new trade policy and legislation can generate over N1 trillion yearly including massive jobs creation.”