Review of remuneration of Politicians etc - RMAFC yet to submit report

Engr. Elias Mbam (former chairman)

The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has clarified its position on the recently-concluded review of revenue allocation formula and remuneration packages for political, public and judicial office holders.

This is following what it terms misleading media reports that the commission was on the verge of withdrawing the two reports it had earlier sent to the presidency for onward transmission to the National Assembly in line with the provisions of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

In a statement yesterday issued by the commission’s spokesperson, Ibrahim Mohammed, the commission dismissed the said media report as lacking in substance and merit as RMAFC was yet to make submission of either of the said reports to Mr. President and wondered how it could withdraw what was not submitted in the first place, urging members of the media to always cross-check with the commission rather than embarking on speculative journalism.

It would be recalled that Mr. Elias Mbam, the immediate past chairman of the commission, had at the end of the Revenue Allocation Formula Review exercise in January, 2014 held a media conference in Abuja, where he assured Nigerians that the lapses inherent in the old revenue allocation formula would be addressed as the draft report would provide a just and promising template that would ensure that fairness becomes the ground norm and rule of engagement in the nation’s revenue sharing game.

Mbam had cautioned that Nigeria must quickly reduce the level of its over-dependence on oil and gas revenue by diversifying the economy in order to ensure sustainable means of funding its development programmes as the hydrocarbon resources which the nation relies on are exhaustible, non-renewable and vulnerable to international price volatility and politics.

To this end, he adds that the commission’s prescription in the proposed document would not only serve the needs of the people but also encourage the three tiers of government to optimise the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) potentials within their domains and promote fairness, justice and transparency in the administration of revenue distributions from the Federation Account for sustainable national development.

It was reported that having concluded its own side of the bargain, as the commission was on the process of sending the draft report to the former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, certain intervening variables crept in to truncate the process.

Some of the militating factors highlighted included the proceedings of the Justice Kutigi-led National Conference and the Senator Ike Ekweremadu-led constitutional amendments, which deliberated extensively on the issue of Revenue Allocation Formula review. Another factor was the 2015 general elections which saw to the emergence of the Buhari administration.