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Tag: Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC)

  • Only NASS Service Commission can explain N13.5m running cost of Senators – RMAFC

    The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission ( RMAFC ), says only the management of the National Assembly Service Commission can explain the N13.5 million running cost allegedly being enjoyed by each Senator. Mr Ibrahim Mohammed, the Head, Public Relations, said this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

    According to him, the Remuneration Act only covers salary and allowances but not running cost.

    He said that the clarification became imperative in view of the recent revelation by Sen. Shehu Sani (Kaduna Central-APC), who was reported to have disclosed to the public that each senator collects monthly running cost of N13.5 million.

    Sani had said that this was in addition to the monthly salary of N750, 000 prescribed by the “Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc.) (Amendments) Act 2008.”

    Mohammed said that a closer look at the monthly entitlement of senators reveals that each of them collects salary and allowances of the sum of N1.06 million.

    He said that the figure consists of the following: Basic-N168,866, motor vehicle fueling and maintenance allowance; N126,650, Personal Assistant N42,216.

    “Domestic Staff-N126,650, Entertainment-N50,660,Utilities-N50,660, Newspapers/Periodicals-N25,330, Wardrobe -N42,216, House Maintenance –N8,443 and Constituency-N422,166 respectively.”

    He also said that some allowances were regular, while others were non-regular.“Regular allowances are paid regularly with basic salaries, while non-regular allowances are paid when due.

    “For instance, furniture allowance of N6.079 million and severance gratuity of N6.079 million are paid once every tenure, while motor vehicle loan of N8.1 million is optional which the beneficiary has to offset before leaving office.

    “The payment of running cost is not part of RMAFC mandate, therefore, only the National Assembly can explain it,” he said.
    According to Mohammed, the Law on Salaries and Allowances of Public Office Holders is very clear.

    Mohammed also said that auditing does not fall within the purview of the commission.

    He said that any other payments being enjoyed by any political or public office holder outside those provided in the Remuneration Act of 2008 were not known to the commission.

    He added that the Chief Accounting Officers of the agencies concerned should explain such payments.

    Mohammed advised that Nigerians should avoid misinformation and misrepresentation of facts capable of misleading citizens and members of the international community.

    He said that they could access the actual details of the present remuneration package for Political, Public and Judicial Office holders in Nigeria published on its website: www.rmafc.gov.ng.
    NAN

  • Mining sector generates N4.96bn in two years – RMAFC

    Mining sector generates N4.96bn in two years – RMAFC

    Mr Shettima Abba-Gana, Acting Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission ( RMAFC ) says the mining sector was generating less than capacity due to activities of illegal mining.

    In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN ) on Thursday in Abuja, Abba-Gana said the sector generated only N14.9 billion between 2015 and 2016.

    Read also: Mining is long-term investment, PwC chief tells investors

    He said that the revenue accrual from the sector was not encouraging and “too low’’.

    “RMAFC believes that the revenue from the solid minerals sector is still below 20 per cent.

    “This is mainly due to the activities of illegal miners who constitutes more than 70 per cent of mining activities and do not pay tax.

    “While the price rates of the minerals in the international market keep rising, the rates of the minerals in Nigeria remained constant at lower rates.

    “Therefore, if all leakages are blocked, the sector can generate up to N500 billion,’’ he said.

    Abba-Gana also said the sector generated N16.2 billion from 2008 until date, adding that the total shared was N9.9 billion with a balance of N6.29 billion left.

    He noted that the observed variance/amount in the escrow account was N1.34 billion.

    According to him, N1.34 billion is still in the solid mineral Federation Accounts Allocation Committee ( FAAC ) sub-account in the Central bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) awaiting submission of data from Ministry of Mines and Steel Development ( MMSD ) for attribution.

    The RMAFC monitors accruals into the federation account and the disbursement of revenue from it.

  • ‘Unarmed robbers’: Our position on Obasanjo has not changed – Reps’ spokesman

    ‘Unarmed robbers’: Our position on Obasanjo has not changed – Reps’ spokesman

    The House of Representatives does not intend to issue a formal response to the fresh label of ‘unarmed robbers’ pinned on federal legislators on Thursday by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, it was learnt Friday.

    Obasanjo,speaking at a book  presentation in Ibadan on Thursday had described the legislators as a bunch of  unarmed robbers because,as he said, “they are one of the highest  paid in the world where we have 70 per cent of our people living in abject poverty.”

    The House said yesterday that its response to an earlier accusation in the heat of the budget padding controversy in 2016 is sufficient for the latest accusation by the former President.

    House spokesman Abdulrazaq Namdas, contacted by The Nation said: “There is nothing to say because the House has responded to the former President previously.

    “The accusation this time is the same as before, so there is nothing to add. Our position has not changed from what we said in 2016.”

    Besides, Namdas said that on a personal basis, he was not prepared to cross fire with Obasanjo in view of his age and position as a former President.

    His words: “He is an elder and in my culture, you don’t respond to elders every time.

    “You don’t banter words with your elders. Having responded once and he accuses you again and again, what you do is you keep quiet.

    “Remember he is a former President and an elder statesman. I will not say more than that.”

    Several other lawmakers contacted by The Nation also declined to respond saying that the former President has not said anything.

    One of them who chose not to be named said: “I will not like to respond to this allegation on the basis that his is an elder and a statesman but that does not validate his claim.

    “I can only describe the accusation as coming from people seeking relevance. Not that Obasanjo is seeking relevance but the fact remains that if anyone wants to be in the news, all you need do is to hit members of the National Assembly.

    “For instance, someone like former President Ibrahim Babangida who has found a new love for restructuring.Why did he not make it happen when he had all the opportunities in the world as the head of the military government then?

    “What did he do? Nothing.But it is now convenient to shift the blame. You know we like playing the blame game in this country.

    “As such, I will rather not comment on it, I will give him that respect but that does not mean what he said is true.”

    Another lawmaker seen by The Nation as he left a Committee meeting said: “In my place, we don’t respond to elders like that. Moreover, Namdas has given the position of the House. Thank you.”

    A lawmaker from the North Central said the former President should be allowed to express himself and enjoy it while it lasts.

    “You know, he is an old man. Let him enjoy himself.

    “Responding to him will only spark an unnecessary debate, and since he has a fixated mind about us, so be it’.

    Namdas in responding, on November 24, 2016,   to Obasanjo’s description of federal lawmakers as corrupt at the height of budget padding controversy, called him a blackmailer, acting as a lifetime opposition leader.

    He said: “He ventured to accuse the National Assembly of budget padding, accused the House of criminal activities of threatening the life of a “whistleblower”, lampooned constituency projects which he approved as President, ventured to discuss the budget of National Assembly which is highly underfunded?

    “The House of Representatives would ordinarily not join issues with the former President as he has held an office that deserves respect and reverence.

    “However, because of the material misstatement of facts, outright lies and falsehoods, and mischievous innuendo introduced in his statement, we are left with no option but to correct him.”

    Mr Namdas went on to address all issues raised by the ex-President during the controversial lecture:

    “We have repeatedly maintained that there was no “padding” of the 2016 Appropriation Act, which is a legitimate document passed by the National Assembly, authenticated by the Clerk to the National Assembly as provided in the Acts Authentication Act and assented to by Mr. President…

    “For the avoidance of doubt, there is no crime that was committed by the National Assembly by exercising its constitutional function of appropriation.

    “If Chief Obasanjo has an issue with the execution of the 2016 Budget or indeed other Appropriation Acts, he should direct his anger elsewhere.

    “He claimed that the National Assembly Budget is very high, when by all standards, the National Assembly is grossly underfunded and is hampered from effectively and legitimately carrying out its constitutionally assigned functions. The National Assembly Budget funds a bureaucracy of about 5,000 civil servants.

    “It has some other agencies under its preview such as the National Assembly Service Commission with its own staff of about 500, even the Public Complaints Commission is now a parastatal of the National Assembly.

    “National Assembly Budget also funds the National Institute for Legislative Studies, which is a legislative think-tank and highly rated academic institution that serves both National and State Houses of Assembly and even international legislators.

    “All these agencies also have their capital budget including development of their headquarters, procurement of office equipment, procurement of regular items for running their offices; the National Assembly maintain legislative aides of about 3,000 in number, that aid the work of the Assembly; it also conducts regular public hearings involving the media and stakeholders and oversight activities, involving huge sums of money.

    “The cost implications of running the National Assembly is high because of the nature of our Presidential democracy.

    “Then of course, there are 109 Senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives that require proper equipment to function effectively. They require adequate travel and transport support to carry out legislative functions.

    “The National Assembly also has buildings and offices to build and maintain. National Assembly staff and members attend conferences, trainings, seminars to keep abreast of legislative developments worldwide. The activities are very encompassing and expensive.

    “It is also unbecoming of a former President to quote figures of sums of money that are factually incorrect. No member of the House of Representatives receives N10m every month.

    “The salaries and allowances of members of the House are as determined by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).

    “Of course further sums of money are spent as running costs, that is, the cost of running the office of a member.

    “If a Minister, Chief Executive or Director in a Ministry travels on official duties, for instance, do you include the cost of his ticket and accommodation as part of his salary or allowances?

    “Does the cost of stationeries and maintenance of equipment like computers used in their offices, form part of their salaries and allowances?

    “These are some of the costs that must be taken care of by the National Assembly and the media calls these costs “jumbo pay”. For goodness sake, the National Assembly is an arm of government, not just an ordinary agency of government.

    “The budget of many agencies in the Executive Branch are indeed higher than the current Budget of the National Assembly that is an arm of government.

    “Examples abound, CBN, NNPC, NCC etc. Allowances paid to even junior staff of some of these government agencies cannot be compared to what members of National Assembly enjoy.

    “Undoubtedly, the former President Obasanjo is understandably angry with the National Assembly as an institution having foiled his ambition for a third-term in office even after trying to corrupt the members with a bribe of at least N50m each.

    “Lest we forget, the person who introduced corruption to the National Assembly is Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

    “He birthed the 4th Republic National Assembly with corrupt practices from day one; indeed the first day of the Republic. He bribed PDP, ANPP and AD legislators on their inauguration in 1999 to vote against the majority candidate of PDP, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo. That was how Senator Evan Enwerem became Senate President.

    “Have we forgotten the sacks of money displayed on the floor of the House of Representatives being bribe money paid by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to some Honourable members to impeach Speaker, Rt. Hon. Ghali N’abba?

    “Have we forgotten that Chief Olusegun Obasanjo used his position as President to extort money from businessmen and contractors with his government to build his presidential library?

    “The list of his corrupt acts while in office is endless. Unquestionably, he is the greatest corrupt person ever to hold office in Nigeria.

    “He remains the grandfather of corruption in Nigeria and lacks the moral authority to discuss corruption or indeed abuse of office in Nigeria as he remains the most corrupt Nigerian on record.

    “It is unfortunate that he has started his very familiar method of bringing down governments. He did it to Alhaji Shehu Shagari, he did it to Gen. Buhari, he did same to Gen. Babangida, he attempted to bring down Gen. Abacha before he imprisoned him for treason; he made frantic efforts to derail the government of President Ya’ardua when he couldn’t use him.

    “He supported President Goodluck Jonathan but when he refused to take dictation, he turned against him. He supported President Buhari, but since he has sensed that Nigeria is having economic difficulties under him, he has pounced to derail his government.

    “The way Chief Obasanjo talks gives the impression that he is a lifetime opposition leader who has never held any office. What did he do about the issues he raised in his 8 years as President?

    “This is a man with unlimited access to President Buhari. Or is it because he has not appointed all his cronies as requested? We may never know. His stuck in trade is blackmail, subversion and treachery.

    “We wish him well.”

  • FG begins exploration of non-oil minerals in Bayelsa

    FG begins exploration of non-oil minerals in Bayelsa

    The Federal Government has commenced a programme to identify and explore other mineral resources besides crude oil in Bayelsa State as part of its policy of diversifying the economy.

    A team from the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) was in the state, Friday, to assess and evaluate the availability of non-oil minerals and reach agreements with the state government for their development.

    The RMAFC’Team on Nationwide Monitoring Exercise on Royalties led by a Director in the commission, Chief Sanyon Omiri, met with the Deputy Governor of the state, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd) to discuss modalities for the exploration.

    Omiri noted that since the beginning of the economic recession, the non-oil sector accounted for 50 per cent of the monthly revenue accruing to the federation account.

    He said following the implementation of the diversification policy the sector would contribute more in the nearest future.

    He lamented that Bayelsa got paltry sum of N1.2million as its share of 13 per cent derivation from the non-oil sector.

    “Bayelsa currently occupies the 36th position on the table of non-oil remittance to the Federation Account, base on June allocations”, he said.

    According to him the state could move up to an appreciable position and increase its share of the 13% derivation from non-oil revenue, if all leakages were blocked with illegal miners captured into the tax net.

    He said that the team would verify and ascertain all the mining companies, number and duration of mining leases issued to each operator, and determine means of increasing revenue generation from mining and solid mineral exploration.

    He said: “We are highly endowed with many untapped mineral resources especially Bayelsa. But with this our exercise, I can assure you that we will put things in the right direction.

    “Bayelsa is endowed with good sand, clay and many other resources. With this our verification, many minerals will be determined”.

    In his remarks, Jonah who said the government was excited at the ongoing verification described it as a step in the right direction.

    He asked the team do a thorough job, noting that if properly conducted, the exercise would provide a viable alternative source of revenue to the state.

    He said that every state is endowed with mineral resources, adding that the current economic recession was biting harder because of long period of overdependence on revenues accruing from the oil sector.

    He said there had been lack of political will to explore and exploit other natural endowments, including agriculture to boost the nation’s economy.

    Assuring the team of the government’s support, Jonah urged its members to engage the appropriate government ministries, agencies, departments and other stakeholders in the exercise.

    He said: “Yes, it is true that Bayelsa State isn’t doing well in the non-oil sector. So they (RMAFC) are going to carry out an audit of what we have because some of the non-oil mineral resources they have in mind may be here and we may not be aware.

    At the federal level, the government is trying to get a consultant to work it out for the entire country.

    “I’m firmly of the belief that there is no land in Nigeria that has no minerals. It depends on how you maximise the exploitation of it. So, at the end of this exercise, this the team will tell us what we have and how we can get it out from the soil.

    “Just like the Federal Government, we also have interest in taxes. We have common interest, so we will certainly benefit from the exercise. But the extent of benefit is what I will not be able to define now”.

    Also, the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Jonathan Obuebite, said if the team carried out their plans, it oils signal the seriousness of the Federal Government on diversification.

    He said developing other non-oil sectors would further create employment and reduce the problems of joblessness in the country.

    He said: “We are happy because the mission is to come and see the mineral resources we have in Bayelsa that can be explored to increase our revenue and contribute to national revenue.

    “If that is done it means that Nigeria is serious now to move out of total dependence on oil. We have the oil, but just like every other nations, but we should have alternative sources of revenue.

    “This, I think if properly done will lead to us having if possible 60 per cent of resources from other sources to boost our economy and grow the system. Whenever a new mineral is discovered, employment is generated too. It will also address the case of unemployment”.

     

  • Diversification: Fed Govt explores non-oil resources in Bayelsa

    Diversification: Fed Govt explores non-oil resources in Bayelsa

    The Federal Government has launched a programme to identify and explore other mineral resources besides crude oil in Bayelsa State as part of its policy of diversifying the economy.

    A team from the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) was in the state, yesterday, to assess and evaluate the availability of non-oil minerals and reach agreements for their development.

    The RMAFC’ Team on Nationwide Monitoring Exercise on Royalties led by a Director in the commission, Chief Sanyon Omiri, met with the Deputy Governor of the state, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd) to discuss modalities for the exploration.

    Omiri noted that since the beginning of the economic recession, the non-oil sector accounted for 50 percent of the monthly revenue accruing to the federation account.

    He said following the implementation of the diversification policy the sector would contribute more in the nearest future.

    He lamented that Bayelsa got a paltry sum of N1.2million as its share of 13 per cent derivation from the non-oil sector.

    “Bayelsa currently occupies the 36th position on the table of non-oil remittance to the Federation Account, base on June allocations”, he said.

    According to him the state could move up to an appreciable position and increase its share of the 13% derivation from non-oil revenue if all leakages were blocked with illegal miners captured into the tax net.

    He said that the team would verify and ascertain all the mining companies, number and duration of mining leases issued to each operator, and determine means of increasing revenue generation from mining and solid mineral exploration.

    He said: “We are highly endowed with many untapped mineral resources, especially Bayelsa. But with this our exercise, I can assure you that we will put things in the right direction.

    “Bayelsa is endowed with good sand, clay and many other resources. With this our verification, many minerals will be determined.”

    In his remarks, Jonah who said the government was excited at the ongoing verification described it as a step in the right direction.

    He asked the team do a thorough job, noting that if properly conducted, the exercise would provide a viable alternative source of revenue to the state.

    He said that every state is endowed with mineral resources, adding that the current economic recession was biting harder because of a long period of overdependence on revenues accruing from the oil sector.

    He said there had been a lack of political will to explore and exploit other natural endowments, including agriculture to boost the nation’s economy.

    Assuring the team of the government’s support, Jonah urged its members to engage the appropriate government ministries, agencies, departments and other stakeholders in the exercise.

    He said: “Yes, it is true that Bayelsa State isn’t doing well in the non-oil sector. So they (RMAFC) are going to carry out an audit of what we have because some of the non-oil mineral resources they have in mind may be here and we may not be aware.
    At the federal level, the government is trying to get a consultant to work it out for the entire country.

    “I’m firmly of the belief that there is no land in Nigeria that has no minerals. It depends on how you maximise the exploitation of it. So, at the end of this exercise, this the team will tell us what we have and how we can get it out from the soil.

    “Just like the Federal Government, we also have an interest in taxes. We have a common interest, so we will certainly benefit from the exercise. But the extent of benefit is what I will not be able to define now”.

    Also, the Commissioner for Information, Mr Jonathan Obuebite, said if the team carried out their plans, it oils signal the seriousness of the Federal Government on diversification.

    He said developing other non-oil sectors would further create employment and reduce the problems of joblessness in the country.

    He said: “We are happy because the mission is to come and see the mineral resources we have in Bayelsa that can be explored to increase our revenue and contribute to national revenue.

    “If that is done it means that Nigeria is serious now to move out of total dependence on oil. We have the oil, but just like every other nations but, we should have alternative sources of revenue.

    “This, I think if properly done will lead to us having if possible 60 percent of resources from other sources to boost our economy and grow the system. Whenever a new mineral is discovered, employment is generated too. It will also address the case of unemployment”.