| Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku |
Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku has posited that the current revenue sharing formula for the three tiers of government favours the centre more than the second and third tiers of government.
Ishaku spoke in Jalingo, the state capital at the opening session of a two days review meeting on revenue allocation formula.
Advancing reasons for his position, Ishaku who was represented by his deputy, Haruna Manu, said the current realities in the socio-economic makeup of the country requires that more funds from the federation account need to be channeled to the states and local government areas.
He said “ in the past decades, the transformations witnessed in the country have increasingly shifted the burden of governance in the face of insufficient and dwindling revenue allocation from the Federation Account.
“This has over the years affected the effective performance of State and Local Government administrations in Nigeria.
“The current federation account allocation formula, which gives the 36 states of the federation a combined 26.72 percent, the 774 Local Government Areas a meagre 20.60 percent, and the Federal Government a larger share of 52.68 percent, needs to be overhauled immediately to reflect the current situation in the country.
“Distinguished Guests, Ladies, and Gentlemen, in light of this uneven and inequitable revenue sharing formula, I wish to state that the revenue sharing formula is unfavourable to the second and third tiers of government since it cannot keep up with our rising obligations, necessitating an immediate review of the formula.
“Additional funds for state and local governments will undoubtedly encourage efficient and effective service delivery.
“Similarly, if the review is successful, it will allow State and Local Government Councils to achieve financial stability, allowing them to better serve their constituents.“
He however opined that the August meeting would birth a fair revenue sharing formula that would reflect the current socio-economic of the country.
Speaking earlier, Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Elias Nbam, said the review of revenue allocation from the federation account is a constitutional mandate of the commission.
Nbiam who was represented by Taraba state representative at the Commission, Ahmed Yusuf, noted that the review meeting was the first step of stakeholders engagement towards evolving a new revenue sharing formula for the country.
He thereafter solicited for positive contributions that would assist the Commission in its onerous task of developing a fair and equitable sharing indices for the three tiers of government.
Also, the state Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Solomon Elisha, in his address enjoined participants to bring their experience to bear on the subject of discuss.
He also urged stakeholders yet to submit their memoranda to do so before the grace period.