New Revenue Formula Ready By 2023
AMINA HUSSAINI, Abuja
The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) may have caved in to the demand for a new revenue sharing formula for the three tiers following the commencement of work on a new formula scheduled for Issuance before the end of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
The current formula which gives the federal government 52.68 percent, States 26.72 percent and the local councils, 20.69 was formulated in 2003. For the littoral states are allocated 13 percent for the oil and mineral resources derived from them.
Similar efforts for a new formula were made during the tenure of the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan but the committee could not conclude on the work.
Chairman, RMAFC, Engr Elias Mbam hinted over the weekend in Abuja said that a new committee is working on a new draft to be sent to the federal lawmakers for consideration after inputs from Nigerians.
The committee will soon seek memos from relevant stakeholders like Federal Government through the SGF, states, the judiciary, Local Governments and civil societies organizations according to Mbam who said the committee will also review the current salaries of public office holders and also address the issue of monetization.
“The work may not be noticed from outside because they have to do some studies on fiscal matters and areas that will be considered in arriving at the appropriate revenue sharing formula”, noted Mbam who stated that the committee after its preliminary works, “will request for memorandum from which inputs of the relevant stakeholders will be extracted”.
“We expect that we will be able to finish in time. We also hope that it will be concluded by this present National Assembly which will also seek the input of the majority of Nigerians.
“We should be able to finish early enough for the lawmakers to consider within three years except for something difficult or unusual happens. We started the review immediately after the inauguration of this National Assembly. So, we still have three and a half years.
“ We will also hold a public hearing on it. So, this is the situation now, it may be difficult to give a time frame because so many variables are not within our control. But we will do our best to get it done within a reasonable time.”
On receipt of the draft, the federal lawmakers are expected to review it along with the allocation principles, taking into consideration, population, equality of states, internal revenue generation, landmass, terrain as well as population density provided that the principle of derivation shall be constantly reflected in any approved formula.”
Many factors have changed from what was obtained in 2014. For instance, security and environmental challenges are no longer the same in addition to new issues which need to be considered.
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