Reps committee to investigate data accuracy of RMAFC

• Probe NSCDC over breach of federal character principle
House of Representatives Committee on Finance is to investigate the accuracy of data provided to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) by the 36 states and 774 local councils of the federation for computing indices utilised for vertical and horizontal revenue allocation.

The committee is to take into consideration the 13 per cent derivation from 2012 to 2021 and the current nature of data maintenance.

The lawmakers will also probe the indices computed for each of the states and local councils by RMAFC (from 2021) transmitted to the Accountant General of the Federation for revenue disbursement to the states (from 2012 to 2021), including parameters utilised to compute the indices.

The House further asked the panel to investigate the indices utilised by the Accountant General for revenue disbursement to the states and councils from 2012 to 2021, including details of the actual amounts disbursed to each state for this period.

These followed resolutions to the adoption of a motion moved by a lawmaker, Mark Gbillah, at plenary, yesterday.

Gbillah said Paragraph 32 of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Section 6 of the RMAFC, 2004 outline the powers of the commission, which among others, include “review, from time to time, the revenue allocation formulae and principles in operation to ensure conformity with changing realities.”

Adopting the motion, the House mandated the committee to investigate “allocation principles utilised by RMAFC in the proposal of new vertical allocation formula and consider efficacy and suitability of same, in line with current and changing realities and the proposed principles for a new horizontal allocation formula.

ALSO, the House is to begin investigation into reported breach of the Federal Character principle by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in its recruitment and promotion processes.

Consequent upon this, the lawmakers mandated the committees on Interior, Federal Character and Public Service Matters to jointly investigate the recruitment, staff quota and promotion exercises carried out by the NSCDC over a period of 10 years and report back within six weeks.

This followed a motion by Awaji-Inombek Abiante and Dumnamene Dekor, drawing attention of the green chamber to the alleged breaches.

According to Abiante, “recent reports indicate that the NSCDC has not been observing the principles of Federal Character in its recruitment processes, thus, marring the corps with irregularities, racketeering, favouritism and nepotism.”