Business
Commission Lists Gains Of New Revenue Formula
The Revenue
Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), says producing the right revenue sharing formula will help solve 50 per cent of the problems currently being experienced in Nigeria.
Its Chairman, Mr Elias Mbam, made the disclosure in an interview with newsmen in Abuja recently.
Mbam said if the commission came out with the new revenue sharing formula, which it had been working on, it would complement the efforts of the national dialogue.
“If we produce a formula that most Nigerians are happy with, over 50 per cent of what the National Dialogue aims to achieve is done.
“Because it is all about how to share political power and the nation’s revenue. These are the two major contending issues we have in the country.
“So, if we are able to settle one aspect, they can use what we have devised as an input in what they are doing,’’ he said.
Mbam said the revenue sharing formula was almost ready and would meet the December deadline, with most aspect of the work already accomplished.
“We have finished literature review, touring, public hearing, sensitisation and collected all our memoranda and the next is to analyse what we have and that will be done during the retreat.
“The commission will go on a retreat on 28th of the month and the retreat will not take more than two weeks.
“At the retreat, we will produce a draft, this will then be confirmed by the plenary committee of the commission, after which we will print and forward accordingly to Mr president,’’ he said.
The chairman also said that the new revenue sharing formula would endeavour to reflect the responsibilities of each tier of government in the country – the federal, states and local governments.
“We will certainly consider objective and subjective approaches. By the subjective, I mean the views which are not based on statistical data and the objective, we have to use statistical data.
“What is the expenditures profile of each tier of government. What will be required for minimal provision of the services of each tier of government.