By Taiye Odewale Abuja–
Th e Senate yesterday passed the N152 billion 2017 budget of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
Th e upper house, which approved the report of the Committee on Finance, approved N75.8 billion as personnel cost, which is 49.58 per cent, N46 billion for overhead cost, which is 30.09 per cent and N31 billion for capital, which is 20.33 per cent of the total budget.
Th e personnel cost, however, increased from N51.8 billion in 2016 to N75.8 billion in 2017 due “to the planned recruitment of 700 additional staff in 2017, an upward review of salary by 30 per cent budget for approval by Salary, Wages and Income Commission,” The sum of N270.5billion budget was also approved for the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) for the 2017 budget with projected revenue of N288.7billion in the same year.
Also, N161.9 billion was approved for the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) with projected revenue of N161.9 billion for 2017.
