The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Elias Mbam

  • RMAFC asks governors for new revenue sharing plan

    THE Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) have requested governors to submit a proposal as the agency begins a review of the revenue allocation formula.

    Chairman of the agency Elias Mbam said the governors are yet to make any plan available despite being in the forefront of those seeking a review of the extant arrangement.

    Mbam said: “No governor has approached me for that (review of formula) either orally or in writing.”

    He added: “Governors should convey their interest to the commission because they don’t have the power to review the formula.”

    One of the governors said on Monday that the position of the states had not changed since a proposal was presented to the Goodluck Jonathan Administration in 2012.

    The governor said: “RMAFC does not need to wait for any presentation or document from us again to review the nation’s revenue allocation because since 2012, we have made our position known to the commission.

    “We raised a six-man committee, headed by ex-Governor Babatunde Fashola which recommended that states should get 42 per cent, the Federal Government 35 per cent;  and Local Governments 23 per cent. That remains the position of the governors.”

    He added: “Other members of the committee were ex-governors Murtala Nyako; Sullivan Chime; Babangida Aliyu; Rotimi Amaechi; and Aliyu Wamakko.

    Read Also: RMAFC inaugurates standing committee

    “RMAFC should continue to work with what we have presented to it and it can serve as a template for all stakeholders.”

    The governor explained further: “We have also set up a committee to monitor RMAFC’s action and further look at our demand when necessary as events unfold.

    “We are aware that the ultimate decision might not reside with RMAFC, it will be the lot of the Federal Government, the states and local governments.

    “Whatever is done by RMAFC, a lot of political consensus is required for any revenue allocation formula to be acceptable.”

    When asked how much pressure the states were putting on the commission to come up with a revenue formula that would give them bigger allocation from the federation account, the RMAFC chairman said: “The commission is not responsible to the governors. It’s an independent institution and the members are made up of men and women of proven integrity so they cannot be pressured or influenced to that.”

    Talks on a sustainable revenue sharing formula from the federation account to the three tiers of government was stalled five years ago.

    But, last month, the commission reopened the issue.

    The subsisting formula of 52.68 per cent for Federal Government, 26.72 per cent for states and 20.60 per cent for local governments came into existence in 2000 through a fiscal circular during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    Apart from the votes from the FAAC, 13 per cent of the oil and gas federally collected revenue is shared among the oil and gas producing states and communities as derivation revenue.

    Attempts were made in 2014 under the administration of the Goodluck Jonathan to come up with what the RMAFC called “a consensus and more equitable revenue formula.” Specifically, the RMAFC carried out extensive consultations in 2013 and came up with a new revenue formula in December 2014.

    However, the Jonathan administration could not transmit the revenue formula which Mbam described as “inconclusive” to the National Assembly.

    It was alleged that many powerful individuals were unhappy that the revenue formula designed under Jonathan favoured the states.

    Mbam said a review is necessary because of “prevailing economic realities”.

    The commission, he said, will “pursue the diversification of the nation’s revenue for a more sustainable growth and economic development.”

    He added: “My agenda is to expand the sources of revenue for the federation. I will like to expand the cake that we are sharing so that people will get reasonable quantity. I intend to do this through diversification in areas outside oil and gas, and that includes solid minerals, agriculture and manufacturing.

    “The RMAFC will encourage states and let them know what is available outside oil and gas so they can develop this aspect of the economy to their own benefit.”

    Mbam is advocating financial autonomy for the local government areas to enable the bulk of Nigerians at the grassroots get the best out of democracy.

    He, however, noted that funding could delay the new revenue formula.

    Mbam cautioned that delay in funding can also delay the speed with which the revenue formula review would be completed. According to him, “they are just starting. I don’t want to preempt what they will actually come out with because there are so many other variables that will also be at play and which will determine when it will end.

    “Take for instance funding; there are some aspects that require funds and there are no funds. Delay in funding can also lead to delay in the timely completion of the new revenue formula. I don’t want to give you a date now; let’s progress a little more before I give you a date but we are looking at as early as possible.”

  • RMAFC recovers over N704.2b

    RMAFC recovers over N704.2b

    • Commission goes tough on MDAs that fail to remit to Federation Account

    The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) recovered over N704.2 billion in the last five years, its Chairman, Elias Mbam has said.

    Addressing reporters in Abuja yesterday at the valedictory briefing to mark the end of his tenure along with that of some members of the Commission, he said RMAFC “expanded the sources of revenue to the Federation Account, with recoveries of over N704.2billion been made, revenue leakages were addressed, verification  is being carried out on the collecting banks and other collecting agencies. Generally, the Commission has addressed vigorously all its Constitutional Mandate”.

    Mbam said he did not have the exact amount recovered. “I don’t have the exact figure of which and which but it is basically in all the generating agencies. A greater proportion is from NNPC. There are some from Central bank, there are some from FIRS. I don’t have the exact figure.

    The Commission, Mbam said, “periodically carried out monitoring and checks on the revenue collecting agencies, including Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), and Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, among others. It also conducted monthly post-disbursement monitoring through post-mortem Sub-Committee of Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). The Commission recovered over N704.2 billion Naira in the course of monitoring and checks within the period under review.”

    To minimise leakages, the Commission, Mbam said, embarked on  the monitoring and reconciliation of collections and remittances by the collecting banks engaged by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Nigerian Customs Service (NCS). The exercise is expected to be a continuous one and over N12.6billion has been established as liability while over N1.8billion has been recovered and remitted to the Federation Account in Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    Similarly, “the Commission is also collaborating with FIRS for the reconciliation and recovery of large amount of Tax Liabilities by Federal MDAs, states, and councils. Over N15 billion  has been recovered in the exercise from the reconciliation of tax liabilities of states and local government councils across the country,” Mbam said.

    To enhance revenue accruals to the Federation Account (FA), the Commission, Mbam said “collaborated with the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development to ensure that Solid Mineral Sector contributed to the FA. The Solid Mineral Sector is now contributing to the FA for the first time.  Over N11.3 billion has been remitted to the Federation Account from this Sector as at July 2015.”

    Mbam also disclosed that the Commission has identified other government agencies that are supposed to remit their generated revenue to the Federation Account but are yet to comply. He listed them as Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), among others as government agencies that defaulted in making remittances to the FA.

    Specifically, Mbam frowned at the NPA, NIMASA and NCC agencies, which he said, “are supposed to generate money for the federation, because of the process they generate money, they use federation assets. Take for instance, the NPA, they are using the body of water. Body of water  is not for the federal government. It’s a national asset. So the money they generate should be for the nation, for the three tiers of government, the same thing with NCC. They give licenses for using the air. Does any state own the air? It is for the nation. So those agencies that generate money using our national assets should be owned by the federation.”

    The Commission Chairman expressed concern that revenue from Stamp Duties in respect of electronic transfer running into billions of Naira “is not being remitted to the Federation Account. As a result, billions of Naira are being lost on a daily basis. I am happy to report that the process of correcting these anomalies has reached an advanced stage. Revenue from stamp duty is not generated and paid to the federation account. You know we have a clearing system where all transactions, electronic transactions go”

  • IBB seeks devolution of powers

    IBB seeks devolution of powers

    The former military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), on Monday called for the devolution of powers between the federal, state and local governments in the spirit of true federalism.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Babangida made the call when the Chairman of Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Chief Elias Mbam, paid him a visit at his Minna residence.

    The former president said that besides proper devolution of powers, there was need for a review of revenue sharing formula in favour of the states and the local government councils.

    He said that a greater percentage of revenue should go to the state and local governments because of their closeness to the masses.

    The former military president also canvassed for diversification of the economy from the current mono-source – oil, to other revenue alternatives.

    Babangida commended the commission for carrying out its assignment diligently in spite of the challenges.

    Earlier, Mbam said the visit was part of extensive consultation with all stakeholders before drawing up a new revenue sharing formula.

    He noted that the review of the revenue sharing formula was last held during the Babangida regime.

    The chairman said the new revenue sharing formula would be ready by December.

     

  • New revenue formula in Dec.

    New revenue formula in Dec.

    A new revenue sharing formula between the three-tiers of government may be ready before the end of the year, Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Elias Mbam, has said.

    Mbam, who spoke in Minna after a meeting with some stakeholders in continuation of his nationwide consultations on the new formula, said the Commission was 90 per cent through with the process of recommending the new formula.

    He said: “After wide consultations with some stakeholders, especially former Heads of state and other principal officers of government, we will come out with the formula that will reflect the wishes of Nigerians.

    “The essence of this nationwide exercise which is one of the processes of the review, is to have imputs from stakeholders in all sections, particularly with our former leaders who know much about this country than many of us.”

    He said that changes in the day-to-day running of the three-tiers of government since the last review of the sharing formula, necessitated the new review as well as the agitation by some other stakeholders for a review to reflect current reality.

    The Chairman explained that in order to ensure that everyone was carried along in arriving at the new formula, the Commission visited the 774 local governments in the country, stressing that it has also embark on the review of past literatures to find out why past exercises failed.

    While admitting that the present sharing formula is not fair enough, Mbam expressed optimism that at the end of the exercise, the wishes of Nigerians will not only be respected, but reflected in the new formula that will be recommended by the Commission.

    He assured that the focus of the review is to ensure that the RMAFC arrived at a reasonable formula that would make it possible for each tier of government to discharge it constitutional responsibilities.

  • Nigeria’s industrial sector has collapsed –RMAFC

    Nigeria’s industrial sector has collapsed –RMAFC

    The Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has called for concerted efforts by all tiers of government to revive the collapsed industrial sector of the nation’s economy.

    The commission’s Chairman, Engr Elias Mbam, made the call at the Women Development Centre, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, where stakeholders from the South-east zone converged for a two- day zonal workshop on Economic Diversification and Enhanced Revenue Generation with the theme- “Economic Diversification for Sustainable National Development.”

    Mbam lamented the country’s over dependence on the crude oil which he noted has impacted negatively on other sectors of the economy, particularly agriculture and solid minerals.

    He therefore called for a shift back to these real sectors which used to be the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy prior to the discovery of oil.

    His words, “The workshop is aimed at sensitising governments at all levels and other stakeholders on the urgent need to broaden the economic base of the nation by diversifying the sources of revenue in order to meet the increasing expenditure requirements of governance and development.

    “Our economy must be diversified to guarantee the actualisation of the various socio-economic development programmes of government, particularly the transformation agenda of the present administration. At present oil and gas resources drive the nation’s economy.

    “These hydrocarbon resources are exhaustible, non renewable and vulnerable to international price volatility and politics. Therefore we must diversify in order to ensure sustainable means of funding our national development and reduce over dependence on oil and gas revenue.

    “There are over 44 minerals in this country located at over 500 locations. We have many abandoned sites and our industrial sector has collapsed. We have to look and pick the gold at our backyard. Agriculture is neglected, before the civil war it was the main stay of our economy.

    “There is therefore, the need for all the three tiers of government and indeed all stakeholders to shift their focus to real sectors of the economy particularly, agriculture, solid minerals, manufacturing and tourism which have greatly declined over the years.”