Senate advances bill to establish CIRFMAN

…Bill Aims to Strengthen Nigeria’s Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Management Framework

By Henry Umoru, Abuja

A Bill for the Establishment of the Chartered Institute of Revenue and Fiscal Management of Nigeria (CIRFMAN) has scaled 2nd speechmaking successful the Senate, marking a large measurement toward improving the country’s fiscal governance and reducing reliance connected indebtedness to money nationalist budgets.

According to the Senate, CIRFMAN, erstwhile established, volition supply a nonrecreational model to heighten gross mobilisation, modulate fiscal absorption practices, and guarantee adoption of planetary champion practices successful nationalist finance. The Bill, sponsored by Senator Adamu Aliero (APC, Kebbi Central), is formally titled:

“A Bill for an Act to Establish the Chartered Institute of Revenue and Fiscal Management of Nigeria, a Professional Body dedicated to the Advancement, Regulation, and Promotion of Excellence successful Revenue and Fiscal Management Practices successful Nigeria, thereby enhancing Efficiency, Transparency, and Accountability successful Public Financial Management and contributing to the wide Economic Development of the Nation; and for Related Matters, 2025 (SB. 614).”

Following its 2nd reading, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau (APC, Kano North), referred the Bill to the Senate Committees connected Finance, Establishment, and Public Service to study backmost wrong 4 weeks.

Presenting the pb debate, Senator Aliero highlighted the urgent request for structural reforms successful Nigeria’s fiscal system.

“Revenue procreation and fiscal absorption are the backbone of immoderate nation’s development. In Nigeria, persistent gross shortfalls, inefficiencies, and inadequate capableness successful gross forecasting person made the state overly babelike connected indebtedness to concern its budget,” helium said.

Aliero noted that Nigeria’s debt-to-revenue ratio has seen important fluctuations successful caller years: 2015–2019: Moderate but rising, reaching astir 65.8% successful 2019.

2020–2021: Peaked astatine 96.7% successful 2020 and 123.2% successful 2021 owed to higher indebtedness servicing and reduced revenues during the COVID-19 pandemic.

2022–2024: Continued fiscal stress, with indebtedness servicing consuming implicit 100% of gross successful immoderate periods, and reaching 147% of retained gross successful 2024, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“This trajectory underscores the request for professionalisation, accountability, and capableness gathering successful fiscal and gross management,” Aliero stated.

The Bill seeks to: Professionalise Revenue and Fiscal Management – Establish standards, ethics, and certifications for practitioners.

Capacity Building – Provide training, research, and improvement opportunities for gross professionals.

Regulation and Oversight – Monitor practitioners and enforce adherence to planetary champion practices.

Collaboration – Foster partnerships with home and planetary institutions to heighten fiscal governance.

Economic Development – Improve gross procreation and utilisation to enactment nationalist development.

Membership: Open to professionals from nationalist and backstage sectors who conscionable certification requirements.

Training and Certification: Conduct workshops, seminars, and nonrecreational courses.

Regulatory Oversight: Monitor members’ behaviour and guarantee compliance with ethical standards.

Policy Advocacy: Serve arsenic an advisory assemblage connected fiscal policies and gross strategies.

Research and Development: Conduct studies to amended fiscal systems successful Nigeria.

Senator Aliero explained that CIRFMAN will: Reduce gross leakages and inefficiencies.

Strengthen fiscal subject and accountability successful nationalist finance.

Attract overseas concern done transparent and businesslike fiscal practices.

Align Nigeria’s fiscal practices with planetary standards.

Provide grooming and accomplishment improvement for gross professionals.

Enhance coordination among gross agencies and stakeholders.

Aliero cited planetary examples, including the American Revenue Association (ARA), Institute of Revenue Management successful Switzerland, and different planetary counterparts, noting that establishing CIRFMAN volition bring Nigeria successful enactment with planetary champion practices.

“This Bill represents a bold measurement toward institutionalising professionalism successful 1 of the astir captious sectors of our economy. By creating CIRFMAN, we are enhancing efficiency, transparency, and accountability successful Nigeria’s fiscal and gross absorption systems,” helium concluded.