New Telegraph

Taraba gov calls for review of allocation formula

 

Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State has sought additional revenue allocation from the Federal Government to harness the state agricultural potentials.
Ishaku urged the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Responsibility Commission (RMAFRC) to always consider the state’s natural endowment while considering its monthly allocation.
The governor made the demand at  sensitisation and advocacy tour of the state by the RMAFRC, stressing that Taraba was agrarian in nature.
Ishaku, represented by Mrs. Suzy Nathan, the state’s Head of Service, directed all state keyplayers and the local council officials to cooperate with the commission to achieve desired results.
“As you are all aware, Taraba State is predominantly agrarian in nature. We may be rich in natural and human resources, but these potentials are being trapped and could transform into wealth if well harnessed.
“It has been a far cry in meeting the yearnings of the citizenry. There is therefore every need for the commission to do the needful as they embark on this sensitization tour of states and local governments in order to fulfill their mandate as empowered by paragraph 32(b) of part 1 to the Third schedule of the 1999 constitution (as amended) to review from time-to-time the revenue allocation formula and principles in operation to ensure conformity with changing realities,” Ishaku added.
The Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Solomon Elisha said the interactive session would provide opportunity for other component units of the federation to contribute to the revenue allocation formula.
In his remarks, the Federal Commissioner in charge of Indicies and Disbursement, Dr. Chris Akomas affirmed that the commission was on advocacy tour to review the indices for sharing of horizontal revenue formula.
Akomas, a former Deputy Governor of Abia State decried the level of discrepancies in data from states and local governments during revenue allocation, noting that the commission was determined to establish uniform figure that would ensure fairness and equitable distribution of revenue.
The ALGON state Chairman, Bala Bako used the  forum to call for true federalism where local government will play its constitutional role.
“Let me say this with due respect if actually Nigeria is truly practicing federalism. In the sense of true federalism, its said that fiscal revenue would be generated by the component states particularly local governments where the revenue points are cited.
“But the situations in Nigeria is different because we don’t know whether we are practicing fiscal federalism or true federalism in the real sense of it and I want to put it on record that local government should be allowed to generate money so that we keep the larger part of this money at the grassroots where people are populated for the money to be used to take care of the masses then pay certain percentage to the Federal Government to be used for common interest,” he said.
In 2018, the Commission embarked on such exercise of collecting, collating and inconclusively analysing data from the sub nationals and therefore could not be used for implementation.
Expectations of Nigerians is to see the success of the exercise this time around.

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