Non-oil sector accounts for over 50% revenue, says RMAFC

The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has said non-oil sector accounts for over 50 per cent of revenues since the beginning of the economic recession.

A commissioner at the RMAFC, Mr. Sanya Omiri, disclosed yesterday in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State during a visit to Governor Seriake Dickson, that the sector was expected to contribute more with the efforts of the Federal Government to diversify the economy.

Omiri revealed that Bayelsa got a paltry N1.2 million as its share of the 13 per cent derivation from the non-oil sector as the state currently occupies the 36th position on the table of non-oil remittance to the federation account, as at June this year.

He, however, noted that, the state could move up to an appreciable position and increase its share if all leakages were blocked with illegal miners and captured into the tax net.

Further explaining its mission, Omiri said the team was in Bayelsa to verify and ascertain all the mining companies, number and duration of mining leases issued to each operator, as well as determine means of increasing revenue generation from mining and solid mineral exploration.

In his response, Governor Dickson described the RMAFC’s nationwide tour as a step in the right direction.Represented by Deputy Governor Gboribiogha John Jonah (rtd), he implored the team to do a thorough job.

Dickson expressed optimism that the exercise, if properly conducted, would open a new vista of opportunities to states in discovering and harnessing alternative sources of revenue.

While expressing the belief that every state is endowed with mineral resources, the governor said the economic recession was worsened by the long period of over-dependence on the oil sector and the lack of political will to explore and exploit other natural endowments, including agriculture.

He urged the team to engage the appropriate government ministries, agencies and departments, as well as other stakeholders, with a view to identifying alternative potentialities of the state and means of harnessing such resources.

According to Dickson, “I am firmly of the belief that there is no land in Nigeria that has no minerals. It depends on how you maximise the exploitation of it. So, at the end of this exercise, this team will tell us what we have and how we can get it out from the soil.”