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With 32 days to go, governors of the 36 states of the federation have demanded the presentation of a new revenue sharing formula to the National Assembly (NASS) to enable its implementation.
The governors said they were set to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari to appeal to him to present it to the federal lawmakers before he leaves office on May 29, 2023. Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, disclosed this to journalists after a meeting of the forum on Wednesday night in Abuja.
Last year, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMFC) had presented the report of the review of the vertical revenue allocation formula to President Buhari. The proposed formula is 45.17 percent for the federal government, 29.79 percent for states and 21.0 percent for the local government areas (LGAs).
However, more than a year after the report was made, the president is yet to present it to the National Assembly. Speaking after the NGF meeting, Tambuwal said, “We are going to meet with Mr President as a forum and we’ll appeal to him to present that formula to the National Assembly.”
According to him, the governors also discussed a range of topics, including financial regulation and primary healthcare. He said among the issues discussed was the need for Nigeria to be taken off the grey list of the Financial Task Force, with the National Financial Intelligence Unit’s guidelines on financial regulation being a key topic.
He said the governors also discussed progress made in primary healthcare, with some states set to receive awards for their achievements. Tambuwal also said the governors discussed the issue of stamp duties owed to both the Federal Government and the states, and are working to ensure that these are released for disbursement.
He noted that the forum has achieved a lot in terms of maintaining unity and non-partisanship, with a focus on Nigeria first and their individual states second. He said, “It’s nothing unusual. It’s a normal meeting of governors where we discuss issues concerning the country, the sub-nationals and of course, democracy and good governance.
“Today, we discussed the guidelines by the NFIU on financial regulation that is working on how to ensure that Nigeria is taken out of the grey list of the Financial Task Force. We also discussed the issue of primary healthcare and the progress made so far during our induction course. Some states that have attained some milestones are going to receive awards for their performance.
“We also discussed the new revenue formula submitted to Mr President by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission and the need for us to approach Mr President on the need for him to present the new draft formula to the National Assembly before this administration winds up.
“We also discussed the issue of stamp duties being owed to both the Federal Government and the states and warehoused by the Central Bank and we are working to make sure that it is released for disbursement to both the Federal Government and the states.
“As a forum and an institution of governance that we inherited from our leaders, the past governors; I believe that a lot of achievements have been made, particularly as we made sure that we maintain and unity the cohesion, the non-partisanship of this platform and making sure that in all that we do, it is about Nigeria first and, of course, our various states.
(leadership.ng)
