Business
RMAFC Charges States, LGAs On Tourism, Agric Dev
The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has urged all states and local governments to show serious commitment to providing enabling environment to exploit potentials in tourism, agriculture and solid minerals.
The commission made the call in a communiqué signed by Chairman, Fiscal Efficiency and Budget Committee of the commission, Mr Ken Kayama and made available to newsmen in Abuja.
The communiqué was sequel to a two-day national workshop on “Alternative Sources of Revenue for Sustainable Development in States and Local Government Area Councils in Nigeria”.
According to the communique, the enabling environment will ensure the full exploitation of the potential of the sectors for and improve the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) accruable to those tiers of government.
The communiqué quoted the participants at the workshop as saying that the Federal Government should encourage states and local government area councils to register companies and obtain mining licences.
“They should also be allowed to monitor companies and individuals holding mining exploration licences in their respective domains.
“Provisions of the 1999 Constitution related to the solid minerals sector should be reviewed to allow for the active participation of states and local government area councils in the sectors,” it said.
It also urged states and local government area councils to look beyond their traditional sources of revenue and explore new areas of investment with short or medium-term pay back capacities.
This it said would help them generate more income through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model in agro-business and tourism.
It also said there should be attitudinal change to governance adding that government should be run efficiently in business-like manner.
“To reduce the high cost of governance at all levels in Nigeria, there is urgent need to deliberately restructure and streamline government bureaucratic operations, processes and institutions.
“Also, a standard ratio of recurrent to capital budget should be set to ensure rapid physical development of the country.”
On tax, the communiqué said states and local government area councils needed to adopt an easy system of filing tax returns to encourage compliance.
It said they should occasionally evaluate the impact and upgrade their collections and monitoring strategies to enhance revenue drive.
“Each state government area council should develop a comprehensive tax payer database. This is necessary for effective planning, monitoring and collection.
“They should urgently identify and look at the possibility of harnessing untapped revenue sources available to them. For example, environmental/ecological tax, capital gain tax, among others.
“They should conduct strategic training for their personnel in order to cope with challenges of modern revenue assessment, collection, documentation and accounting.”
The workshop was organised by RMAFC in collaboration with Switch Consulting Limited.
According to RMAFC, this was to sensitise states and local governments area councils on new and alternative sources of revenue generation to meet the ever increasing expenditure requirements of governance and development.
“Payment of tuition fees for undergraduate/postgraduate studies shall be subject to a maximum limit of $25,000.00 per semester,” the Manual states.
The expansion of international card limits also reflects growing confidence among lenders that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough to support retail dollar transactions.
Speaking recently at the BusinessDay 14th Annual CEO Forum in Lagos, CBN Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN said buying and selling activities now increasingly determine outcomes in the foreign exchange market, unlike in the past when market participants relied heavily on routine Central Bank interventions.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have risen from just over $3 billion at the start of the reform programme to more than $40 billion, while gross reserves have climbed to about $52 billion, providing stronger confidence for investors and enabling the Central Bank to reserve interventions for periods of market stress rather than day-to-day liquidity management.
The restoration and expansion of international naira card spending limits are increasingly being seen as one of the clearest signs that the benefits of the CBN’s foreign exchange reforms are beginning to reach households, students and businesses making legitimate cross-border payments.
The Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, WEC, Dr Angela Wilkinson, disclosed this in a statement, last Thursday.
“Nigeria’s participation comes at a pivotal time as the country seeks to expand energy access, strengthen energy security, accelerate gas development and mobilise the capital required for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
“WEC Nigeria will convene leaders from across the energy ecosystem, apply the WEC’s globally recognised Energy Trilemma framework to Nigeria’s unique context, and promote evidence-based dialogue, practical collaboration and informed policymaking.
“It will also ensure that Nigerian and broader African perspectives contribute meaningfully to global energy conversations,” she said.
Wilkinson expressed confidence that Nigeria would play a significant leadership role at the World Energy Congress scheduled for Riyadh in April 2027 and beyond.
The statement also quoted the Chairman of WEC Nigeria, Isa, as describing the country’s participation as an opportunity to deepen national and African leadership within the global energy community through practical solutions tailored to regional development priorities.
He said the platform would promote collaboration across sectors and attract sustainable investments into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of WEC Nigeria, Wunti, was quoted in the statement as saying that the council would connect leadership, evidence and investment to build a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.
“This system will be capable of driving economic growth and shared prosperity.”
According to him, the platform will also connect Nigerian institutions and businesses with international knowledge, technology, partnerships and investment opportunities through the World Energy Council’s global network.
Recall that WEC, founded in 1923, is the world’s oldest independent and impartial community of energy leaders and practitioners, advancing informed, collaborative and practical action across the global energy system.