The Governors of the 36 states in Nigeria are pushing for a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss a new revenue formula draft that was presented to him by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission in 2022, Entrepreneurng report.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum and the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, disclosed this in a meeting of the 36 Governors in Abuja.
The meeting was aimed at persuading President Buhari to present the new revenue draft formula to the National Assembly before the new government takes over on May 29, 2023. Governor Tambuwal stated that they would appeal to the President to present the new draft formula during their meeting with him.
The new revenue-sharing formula proposed by the commission suggests 45.17% to the Federal Government, 29.79% to states, and 21.04% to local governments. However, in the current revenue-sharing arrangement, the Federal Government takes home 52.68%, leaving the state and local governments with 26.72% and 20.60%, respectively. Therefore, the Governors are pushing for a new revenue-sharing formula that will be more equitable and help states to have more financial autonomy.
Aside from the new revenue-sharing formula, the Governors also discussed other important issues such as the guidelines on financial regulations, primary healthcare, and stamp duties. They also noted that they were working to ensure that Nigeria is taken out of the grey list of the Financial Task Force. Some states that have attained some milestones in primary healthcare were set to receive awards for their performance.
Governor Tambuwal also reviewed the achievements of the Nigeria Governors Forum and noted that they have maintained unity, cohesion, and non-partisanship. The governors have always ensured that in all that they do, it is about Nigeria first and their various states.
When asked about the proposed removal of fuel subsidy by the incoming administration, the outgoing Sokoto State Governor said that the governors did not take a definite stand on it. However, they may discuss it in the future as it is an important issue that affects the people of Nigeria.
In attendance at the meeting were the Governors of Kaduna, Edo, Borno, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Bayelsa, Oyo, Plateau, Katsina, Ogun, Imo, and Lagos States, among others. The meeting lasted over three hours and had in attendance the Chairman of the National Assembly Service Commission, Mr Ahmed Amshi.
Finally, the Governors are pushing for more financial autonomy for the states and are working to ensure that Nigeria is taken out of the grey list of the Financial Task Force. They are appealing to President Buhari to present the new revenue draft formula to the National Assembly before the new government takes over on May 29, 2023.
Source: PunchÂ
