MTEF/FSP: ITF targets N209.2bn revenue in three years

Industrial Training Fund, ITF, has projected N209.219billion in the next three years.

The agency gave the breakdown of the projections as N66.473billion revenue to be generated in 2024, N69. 744billion in 2025 and N73.2billion in 2026.

This is even as the ITF surpassed N48.873billion revenue projected for 2023 fiscal year by raking in N51.344billion as at third quarter of the year.

Director General of the Fund, Dr. Hafiz Oluwatoyin Ogun gave these submissions at an interface with Senate Joint Committees on Finance, Appropriations, National Planning, and Local and Foreign Debts on the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF and Fiscal Strategy Paper, FSP.

The ITF boss, who spoke through the Director of Finance and Accounts, Hajia Safiya Atta Mansoor, said out of the generated revenue , N14billion had been remitted into consolidated Revenue Fund just as 50% of the revenue , used for reimbursement of employers of labour.

According to her, ITF  three sources of revenues are training fund, cost fee and other incomes.

In beefing up revenue generation for the agency, Ogun informed the committee members that National Artisans Registration and Development Programme would soon be put in place for registration of artisans across the country and facilitating their operations corporately.

He said: “Within my short stay in Nigeria, I observed that artisan jobs in the country, have been taken over by Beninoises, Ghanaians and Togolese which should not be so, because there is no job Nigerians cannot do.

“To stem the tide, ITF under my leadership, would soon put in place, National Artisans Registration and Development Programme to register our artisans and positioned them for jobs due to them.”

He added that the ITF is a big  organisation with 16 directors, two head offices, 41 Area Offices, five  skills and training centres, 14 vocational skills and training centres etc .

The joint committee, however, tasked the agency to direct its finance department to tidy up slight  discrepancies observed in the reports submitted to it.

The observed discrepancies, as stated by the chairman of the Committee,  Senator Sani Musa (APC Niger East), must be corrected this week before committee submits its report to the Senate .