Federal Government on Wednesday unveiled plans to commence the implementation of the new revenue-sharing formula in the first quarter of 2024.

The Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Muhammed Bello Shehu gave the indication during an interactive session on the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) held at the instance of the House of Committee on Finance, chaired by Hon James Faleke.

He said that he had briefed President Bola Tinubu about the expected changes.

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The chairman also noted that when approved, it will pass through the National Assembly for legislative action before its implementation.

”And I will assure this committee members that sometime next year, the commission will forward a new revenue allocation formula, first quarter to Mr. President and we believe that he will forward it to the National Assembly for you to do your job on this issue. That I can assure you sir and the members too,” Shehu said.

Shehu also revealed that between N3 to N6 trillion is being owed to the Federal Government by some agencies.

In his response, the Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Faleke, said that he hopes the implementation comes quickly as “Where the Federal Government is having the lion’s share of revenue is not right.

“That’s why everybody is saying government, we have no money, no food, no this and that. As if it is the responsibility of the Federal Government to provide food.

“The Federal Government is just to create an enabling environment and good policies. If our Local Government system works well, we shouldn’t be having these impacts at all. I’m a product of Local Government and I know what I’m talking about.

“If our Local Government system works well, you don’t even know if the Federal Government exists or not. I’m sure we need to go back to that system.”

He also encouraged the chairman of the commission to bring the act setting up the Commission for amendment following an appeal by the chairman.

“The present Act does not give them the power, there’s no biting teeth and that’s why most agencies flaunt remittances.

“And so, I think you need to look into the act. We can look at it and amend it from our side. But we need to be aware that that act needs to be amended to make it more effective for better revenue for this country,” Faleke said.

 

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