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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected
a long-shot lawsuit by Texas and backed by President Donald Trump
seeking to throw out voting results in four states, dealing him a
likely fatal blow in his quest to undo his election loss to
President-elect Joe Biden.

*Upward review of 15% mobilisation fee to 30%
*Finance bill determines our ability to grow economy, tackle
insecurity in 2021 ― Gbajabiamila

Federal Government is seeking National Assembly’s approval for
the establishment of N500billion Crisis Intervention Fund as
encapsulated in the proposed Finance Bill, 2020, which shall be
provided in the Consolidated Revenue Fund and the Special
Account.

According to the Finance Bill, “the Crisis Intervention Fund may
be utilized for making funds available to meet expenditure as
provided in the annual Appropriation act to meet any crisis-related
expenditure or other such exigencies that may arise pursuant to
section 12 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (as amended) and
section 306 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

It further seeks to amend section 44(1) and (2) of the 1999
Constitution with the view to establish by way of a trust fund, as
a sub-fund of the crisis intervention fund, an Unclaimed Funds
Trust Fund, into which unclaimed dividends of a public limited
liability company quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and
any unutilized amounts in a dormant bank account maintained in or
by deposit money bank which has remained unclaimed or unutilized
for a period of not less than six years from the date of declaring
the dividend or domiciling the funds in bank accounts shall be
transferred immediately to the Unclaimed Funds Trust Fund which
shall be managed by Debt Management Office (DMO).

The bill, however, imposed a stiff penalty on any company or
deposit money bank that fail to transfer the unclaimed dividends or
unutilized amount in a dormant bank account to the Unclaimed Funds
Trust Fund, to a fine of not less than five times, the value of the
unclaimed dividends and unutilized funds, in addition to
accumulated interest on the amount not transferred at the central
bank of Nigeria’s monetary policy rate.

It, however, exempted official bank accounts owned by Federal,
State and Local Governments as well as Ministries, Departments and
Agencies (MDAs).

The provisions were contained in the proposed amendment of
Section 39 of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Act, which
was considered at the public hearing held at the instance of the
House Committee on Finance, chaired by Hon. James Faleke, alongside
other fiscal legislation, as contained in the Finance Bill,
2020.

The present administration also proposed 3-year imprisonment
and/or both N1 million fine on any serving and former staff of
Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) or any agent who divulge or
attempt to communicate taxpayer information to any person other
than an authorized person to collect tax in the country.

In the same vein, Federal Government proposed for the upward
review of 15% mobilisation to 30% to contractors in the extant
Public Procurement Act, as well as the establishment of a general
reserve fund by each MDAs in which one-fifth of its operating
surplus for the fiscal year shall be allocated, provided that the
cost-to-revenue ratio of each corporation shall not exceed 50 per
cent or such other ratio as the Minister may publish for that
particular corporation by way of the order published in the
official gazette.

Similarly, Federal Government proposed amendment to section 12
of the fiscal responsibility Act, to empower the President to
exceed the statutory 3 per cent deficit-to-gross domestic product
threshold to fund the budget, in terms of designating situations
where, due to the occurrence or imminent occurrence or conditions
that may lead to the declaration of a state of emergency, such as a
pandemic, as well as the provisions of sections 59 and 306 of the
1999 constitution (as amended).

While presenting his keynote address, the Speaker of the House
of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila on Friday disclosed that
the passage of the proposed Finance bill will determine the present
administration’s ability to fund the 2021 budget and meet other
socio-economic obligations.

Hon. Gbajabiamila who stated this during the public hearing on
the Finance Bill, 2020 which passed through Second Reading on
Thursday, reiterated the need to ensure that the views of the
citizens yield good fruit and “not by narrow considerations of
personal or group interests, but fealty to the best interests of
the majority of our people and the pursuit of a more peaceful,
prosperous and a more economically viable society for all.

“We must also remember that the proper operation of democracy
requires that people be willing to listen to and hear each other
out especially when they disagree. Let us remember also that
whether or not people listen to what you have to say depends not
only on the content of your message but also on the manner you
choose to deliver it and following therefrom ensure that we observe
decorum, and treat each other fairly in the manner of our
contributions.”

He maintained that the proposed Finance, 2020 “will determine
amongst other things, our ability as a nation to fund the 2021
budget, meet the obligations of government and implement policies
to build infrastructure, address the problem of insecurity, grow
the economy, and provide jobs that pay a living wage and lift
families out of poverty.

“It is an important piece of legislation, deserving of thorough
consideration, and reasoned debate by the parliament of the people,
acting in the best interests of the people.

“We have a responsibility as legislators to meticulously review
and examine every aspect of this Bill to ensure that we produce a
legislative document that is clear in its objectives, thoughtful in
the mandates it imposes and reflective of the best aspirations of
all our citizens.”

On his part, Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Hon. James
Faleke who stressed the need for Nigeria to think out of the box in
order to turn around the prevailing negative economic narratives to
a more positive one underscored the resolve of the three arms of
government towards putting in place the necessary economic
mechanisms to properly reposition the economy for effectiveness and
efficiency.

He stressed that the proposed amendments seek to “revitalize the
national economy, promote fiscal equity by mitigating instances of
regressive taxation; reform domestic tax laws to align with global
best practices, introduce tax incentives for investments in
infrastructure and capital market, support small businesses in line
with the ongoing ease of doing business reforms and raise revenue
for the government by various fiscal measures.”

Hon. Faleke who reiterated the 9th Assembly’s commitment towards
prioritizing the review of all federal tax laws to encourage
investment; to incentivize enterprise; ensure fairness and curb tax
avoidance and evasion through the use of ICT in tax collection and
administration’, as well as attainment of substantive reduction in
the percentage of and unemployed Nigerians, as encapsulated in the
9th House of Representatives Legislative Agenda.’