Business
Rep Wants Review Of Revenue Sharing Formula…Says N30,000 Minimum Wage Is Not Enough
The member representing Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Kingsley Chinda has given his support to the call by the governors forum for a review of the revenue sharing formula.
He said that the current revenue sharing formula can not help the nation , and can not as well improve the economy of the country.
Chinda who disclosed this in an interview with aviation correspondents at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, noted that the current revenue sharing formula would not improve the workforce ,and will not in any way encourage any state to begin to think outside the box.
The state governors had recently called for upward review of state allocation from the Federation Account to enable them meet up with the N30,000 minimum wage demanded by Nigerian workers.
“I totally agree that the magical formula which has denied some parts of the country 87 % of their revenue should be changed. A time was, when we depended on agriculture, and then it was 100% to those who are producing the resources of this country and they paid tax to the center.
“It gradually changed and got to a time when it was 50% to the centre Today, the law is that 13% to the source of the revenue. How we arrived at the 13%, what were the indices, and the calculations that were made, l do not know and that is why l call it a magical formula.
“We can not get it right until we do things with facts and figures.We must change that revenue formula”, Chinda said. On the minimum wage, the federal lawmaker said that N30,000 is not a living wage,and therefore not good enough.
“ The reason why corruption is thriving in Nigeria is because the people are poorly paid and they don’t have an option and they must also survive, even though that is not an excuse”, he said.