Our revenues can no longer handle government’s needs – RMAFC

From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja

The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has raised alarm over Nigeria’s fiscal trajectory, saying that the internally generated revenue (IGR) is insufficient to tackle the government’s growing expenditure needs.

Speaking at the retreat with the theme “Clarifying the Strategic Role of the Mobilisation and Diversification Committee and Leveraging Diversification Mandate to Drive Nigeria’s Economic Transformation” in Calabar, Chairman, RMAFC, Dr Muhammed Bello Shehu, who was represented by the Commissioner representing Kwara State, Ismail Mohammed Agaka, noted that the time has come for all stakeholders to adopt a deliberate and data-driven approach to revenue mobilisation and economic diversification.

In a statement, the Chairman said that the retreat was designed to evaluate existing revenue mobilisation frameworks, explore innovative avenues for economic diversification, strengthen collaboration with sub-nationals and other relevant stakeholders and, most importantly, develop actionable recommendations that fit into the national policy.

The Mobilisation and Diversification Committee Chairman and the Federal Commissioner representing Edo State in the Commission, Honourable Victor Eboigbe, disclosed that the main reason for the retreat was to carefully examine issues affecting the committee’s performance and deliberate on innovative and actionable ways to engender a realistic economic diversification at all levels that will be in tune with the current economic realities in the country.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the retreat, the committee recommended the addition of economic diversification efforts of governments at all levels as one of the proxies for sharing the revenue allocation formula. It also emphasised the need to sensitise the sub-nationals by collaborating with the six regional development commissions to organise zonal advocacy.

The communiqué further recommended that the Commission should come up with a national policy document on economic diversification, taking into consideration economic potential and the peculiarities of the three tiers of government. It added that the Mobilisation and Diversification Committee should collaborate with all relevant stakeholders to obtain information that would guide the committee in carrying out its mandates.

Other recommendations include fostering public-private partnerships and facilitating collaboration amongst the federal, states, and local governments to boost investment and economic growth.

To organise zonal advocacy to enhance revenue generation of the tiers of government by bringing in the informal sector into the tax net using banks and the financial sector. The committee also recommended that government at all levels should embark on projects with huge revenue potential and job contents and the urgent need for the continuation of infrastructural development of past administrations.

For the purpose of continuity, the committee recommended that past programmes of the Commission on economic diversification at all levels should be rebranded and reorganised to reflect the current economic realities in the country.