Lagos, Lagos State – By Prime Brief Media
Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Olisa Agbakoba, has raised the alarm over what he describes as massive structural leakages in Nigeria's public finance system, estimating that the country loses approximately ₦20 trillion annually through inefficiencies, corruption, and evasion.
Speaking at a governance forum in Lagos on Tuesday, Agbakoba said the losses, which cut across tax collection, oil revenue, customs duties, and public expenditure, are the single greatest threat to Nigeria's fiscal stability.
"Nigeria is haemorrhaging money through a thousand cuts. We lose trillions to tax evasion, oil theft, misinvoicing, contract inflation, and poor revenue collection. If we do not plug these leakages urgently, we are heading for a fiscal collapse, regardless of how much we borrow," Agbakoba warned.
The senior lawyer called for the urgent deployment of technology in revenue collection, the strengthening of anti-corruption agencies, and the prosecution of high-profile offenders. He also advocated for the full implementation of the Steve Oronsaye report on the rationalisation of government agencies to reduce recurrent expenditure.
The Federal Government has acknowledged the challenge of revenue leakages, and the Ministry of Finance has launched several initiatives, including the e-Invoicing platform, to improve compliance and transparency.
Prime Brief Media will report on further economic indicators and official responses as they become available.
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