Niger, RMAFC stress equitable revenue sharing formula for development

Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State has harped on the need for equitable revenue sharing formula to give the states more resources for provision of basic amenities to the citizens.

He made the plea when he received a team from the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), led by the Federal Commissioner, Alhaji Ibrahim Bako Shettima, at Government House, Minna.

The governor expressed optimistic that a favourable revenue sharing formula would be worked for the development of the country.
He advised that all variables should be considered for the betterment of the most populous nation.

The governor explained that his state was working on its internally generated revenue (IGR), hoping to join the league of oil-producing settlements.

Bello said all that was needed at the end of the two-day sensitisation project in Minna were justice and equity in revenue allocation.

The visitor, Shettima, observed that over the years, Nigerians have been agitating a new sharing formula at the expiration of the stipulated minimum of five years.

The commissioner regretted that various attempts to review the formula had suffered setbacks, pledging that the RMAFC was poised to the needful in deference to constitutional demand.

He said: “It is worthy to note that the imperative of the review cannot be over-emphasised in order to fulfil the collective aspiration of Nigerians for a fair and more equitable fiscal arrangement among the three tiers of government.”

ANOTHER Federal Commissioner, Alhaji Adamu Yuguda Dibal, stressed that the 1999 Constitution (as amended) empowers the commission to regularly review the revenue allocation formula.

According to him, in view of the changing socioeconomic and political dynamics in the nation, the commission had engaged stakeholders to fashion a new sharing formula.

Speaking yesterday at the National Sensitisation Revenue Sharing (NSRS) formula in Maiduguri, Borno State, he stated: “Over the years, there have been agitations to review the revenue sharing formula.”

He said the evaluation was to fulfill the collective aspiration of the people for sustainable development, noting that the awareness was to enlist support of stakeholders and get their inputs.