Commission tinkers with Nigeria’s revenue sharing formula
Nigeria’s Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has begun the review of a new revenue allocation formula for 36 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The commission has therefore requested governors to submit their proposals and input.
The Chairman of theCommission, Mr Elias Mbam, said the states were yet to make any plan available despite being in the forefront of those seeking a review of the extant arrangement.
“No governor has approached me for that (review of formula) either orally or in writing.
“Governors should convey their interest to the commission because they don’t have the power to review the formula.”
He reported that one of the governors was on the view that the position of the states had not changed from their proposal presented to the Goodluck Jonathan Administration in 2012.
“RMAFC does not need to wait for any presentation or document from us again to review the nation’s revenue allocation because since 2012, we have made our position known to the commission.
“We raised a six-man committee, headed by ex-Governor Babatunde Fashola which recommended that states should get 42 per cent, the Federal Government 35 per cent; and Local Governments 23 per cent. That remains the position of the governors,” he reported the governor as saying.
RMAFC chairman said: “The commission is not responsible to the governors. It’s an independent institution and the members are made up of men and women of proven integrity so they cannot be pressured or influenced to that.”
The subsisting formula of 52.68 per cent for Federal Government, 26.72 per cent for states and 20.60 per cent for local governments came into existence in 2000.
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