Business

RMAFC presents new revenue sharing proposal to Buhari

Published

4 years ago

April 8, 2022

FG to get 45%, states 29.7%, LGs 21.04

President Muhammadu Buhari has received a report on the review of the vertical revenue allocation formula from the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).
The report proposes a sharing formula of 45.17 per cent for the FG, 29.79 per cent for state governments and 21.04 per cent for the local governments.
Under the current sharing arrangement, the federal government takes 52.68 percent of the revenue shared, states get 26.72 percent while local governments get 20.60 per cent.
The development is coming on the heels of the review of the current revenue sharing formula by RMAFC, which commenced in June, last year.
According to a statement by Femi Adesina, presidential spokesperson on Thursday, Buhari said he will await the final outcome of the constitutional review process before presenting the report to the national assembly.
‘‘Ordinarily, I would have gone ahead to table this report before the National Assembly as a Bill for enactment,” Buhari said.
‘‘However, since the review of the vertical revenue allocation formula is a function of the roles and responsibilities of the different tiers of government, I will await the final outcome of the constitutional review process, especially as some of the proposed amendments would have a bearing on the recommendations contained herein.”
Buhari outlined some of the recommendations in the report as the “establishing local government as a tier of government and the associated abrogation of the state/local government account; moving airports; fingerprints, identification and criminal records from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent legislative list, empowering the RMAFC to enforce compliance with remittance of accruals into and disbursement of revenue from the Federation Account as well as streamlining the procedure for reviewing the revenue allocation formula.’’
The President assured members of the commission that the FG would immediately subject the report to its internal review and approval processes, while awaiting finalisation of the efforts by the national assembly.
The President said, this strategy, rather than issuing an Executive Modification Order, as was done in 1992, was more in line with entrenching the democratic tenets.
“I am aware that the present revenue allocation formula has not been reviewed since the last exercise carried out in 1992,” he said.
‘‘Considering the changing dynamics of our political-economy, such as Privatisation, Deregulation, funding arrangement of Primary Education, Primary Health Care and the growing clamour for decentralisation among others; it is necessary that we take another look at our Revenue Sharing Formula, especially the vertical aspects that relate to the tiers of government.
‘‘This becomes more compelling as we need to reduce our infrastructural deficit, make more resources available for tackling insecurity, confront climate change and its associated global warming and make life more meaningful for our rapid growing population.’’
According to him, equitable distribution has always been observed in the sharing of national resources.
“‘I want to let you all know that I have keenly followed most of the discussions held in the geo-political consultative process and one thing that struck me clearly was the agreement that a review of our vertical revenue formula cannot and should not be an emotional or sentimental discussion and it cannot be done arbitrarily,” Buhari said.
‘‘All over the world, revenue and resource allocation have always been a function of the level of responsibilities attached to the different components or tiers of government.
‘‘I am, therefore, happy to note that the discussions were held along these lines and rested squarely on roles and responsibilities as spelt out in the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
‘‘However, I also note that in reaching the final decisions at most of these engagements, not much emphasis was placed on the fact that the Second Schedule of the Nigerian constitution contains Sixty Eight (68) items on the Exclusive Legislative List and the remaining Thirty (30) items on the Concurrent List requiring both the Federal and State Government to address.”
Buhari said for the nation to have a lasting review of the present revenue allocation formula, there must first be an agreement in the responsibilities of all the tiers of hovernment.
He noted that the proposal seeks a 3.33 percent reduction in the current federal government allocation and on the other hand an increase of 3.07 percent and 4.4 percent for the states and local governments.
He added that with regard to special funds, the report by the RMAFC proposed an increase of two percent for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and a decrease of 38 per cent for development of natural resources.
The President said the FG also made its input into the process of reviewing the vertical revenue allocation formula.
He said this was based on existing constitutional provisions for roles and responsibilities for the different tiers of government.
“We must note the increasing visibility in sub-national level responsibilities due to weaknesses at that level. For example: Primary Health Care; Basic Primary Education; Levels of insecurity, and; Increased remittances to state and local governments through the Value Added Tax sharing formula, where the Federal Government has only 15 per cent and the states and local governments share 50% and 35% respectively,’’ he added.
The chairman of RMAFC, Elias Mbam, said the proposed vertical revenue allocation formula advised 45.17 percent for the FG, 29.79 percent for state governments and 21.04 per cent for the local governments.
Under special funds, he said, the report by the commission recommended 1.0 percent for ecology, 0.5 percent for stabilisation, 1.3 percent for development of natural resources and 1.2 percent for the FCT.
Mbam said there was wide consultation with major stakeholders, public hearing in all the geo-political zones, administering of questionnaires and studying of some other federations with similar fiscal arrangements like Nigeria to draw useful lessons from their experiences.
According to the RMAFC chairman, the commission also visited all the 36 states and the FCT, the 774 local government areas to sensitize and obtain inputs from stakeholders.
He said literature reviews were conducted on revenue allocation formula in Nigeria dating back to the pre-independence period.
He added the commission received memoranda from the public sectors, individuals and private institutions across the country.
Mbam said since the last review was conducted in 1992, the political structure of the country had changed with the creation of six additional states in 1996, which brought the number of states to 36.
He said the number of local governments also increased from 589 to 774.

Related Topics:Buhari revenue sharing formula RMAFC

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Dangote Opens Refinery Investment to Nigerians With Public Share Sale Plans

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President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote

Dangote Opens Refinery Investment to Nigerians With Public Share Sale Plans

Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, has announced that ordinary Nigerians will soon be able to buy shares in the $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery, a move aimed at expanding public participation in one of Africa’s largest industrial projects. The announcement was made during a guided inspection of the refinery by NNPC Limited management, led by Group CEO Bayo Ojulari, and senior officials of the company.

Dangote stated that arrangements are being finalised to allow individual investors to acquire shares within the next four to five months, giving Nigerians direct ownership in the refinery. “Individually, Nigerians too will have an opportunity… in the next maximum four or five months, they will actually be able to buy their shares,” he said.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) currently holds a 7.25 % stake in the refinery on behalf of Nigerians, ensuring that public interest remains a key aspect of the project. Dangote further explained that investors will have flexibility in receiving returns, saying, “People will have a choice either to get their dividends in naira or to get their dividends in dollars because we earn dollars.”

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CBN Policies, Foreign Inflows Drive Naira to Two-Year Peak

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3 days ago

February 20, 2026

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CBN Policies, Foreign Inflows Drive Naira to Two-Year Peak

Nigeria’s naira has extended its recent rally, trading at one of its strongest levels against the U.S. dollar in nearly two years, supported by sustained foreign portfolio inflows, tighter liquidity management, and targeted policy interventions by the monetary authorities.

A macroeconomic update by CardinalStone shows that the local currency has appreciated 6.9 per cent year-to-date at the official foreign exchange market, closing at ₦1,347.78/$—its strongest performance since early 2024. The appreciation reflects improved FX liquidity and growing confidence in the official trading window.

Despite the gains, a gap persists between the official and parallel markets. However, the premium narrowed from about 5.7 per cent to roughly 3.2 per cent following renewed foreign exchange interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria. According to CardinalStone, the compression of the spread indicates stronger liquidity conditions in the official market, reducing incentives for speculative trading and arbitrage.

As part of efforts to further stabilise the FX market, the CBN recently authorised licensed Bureau de Change (BDC) operators to access foreign exchange from approved dealers at prevailing market rates, subject to a weekly cap of $150,000 per BDC and strict Know-Your-Customer (KYC) requirements. Under the framework, operators must sell unused FX balances within 24 hours, limit cash transactions to 25 per cent of total trades, and settle transactions through licensed financial institutions.

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Railway

Railway track vandalism: Urgent need for laws prohibiting scrap/metal picking to protect critical assets

Published

3 days ago

February 19, 2026

Trends Admin

Railway track vandalism: Urgent need for laws prohibiting scrap/metal picking to protect critical assets

By Onyedikachi Stanley Onovo

The wanton destruction and theft of Nigeria’s railway infrastructure and other critical public assets represent one of the gravest threats to national development and security.

Across the nation—from the Warri-Itakpe line to Abuja-Kaduna, the Eastern and Western Districts, Lagos-Ibadan, and throughout the Northern network—vandals systematically dismantle tracks, steal armoured cables, and pillage essential equipment. This crisis demands an immediate and robust legislative response.

The unending menace

The vandalism is perpetrated by a network of individuals, from local miscreants (“iron condemn”) to organised merchants who purchase and export stolen materials. Security reports and countless arrests underscore the scale of the problem:

In December 2023, a private security firm arrested 13 suspects for vandalising Abuja Mass Transit Rail assets. The suspects were said to be casual workers engaged by a Chinese company working on the railways, but said to have used the opportunity to steal the materials.

On June 2024, The Cable reported that the Nigerian Army arrested 47 suspected rail track vandals in Kaduna State.

In October 2025, police arrested a suspect vandalising railway electrical installations also in Kaduna State.

Radio Nigeria in December 2025 announced the arrest of three persons in Kwara State for vandalizing and stealing Railway clips and nuts in Offa.

In May 2021, TVC reported some individuals, including one Ejike Okeke were apprehended in Enugu with stolen sleepers and tracks.

On the 30th of January 2026 the Nigerian Television Authority reported that the NSCDC, Bauchi State Command arrested five suspects and intercepted a truck carrying vandalized railway tracks.

This relentless assault has plagued successive management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), defying conventional counter-strategies.

A transformative leadership initiative

A pivotal shift began under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with the appointment of Dr. Kayode Opeifa as Managing Director/CEO of the NRC.

Dr. Opeifa introduced a fundamental paradigm shift by redesignating what was carelessly termed “scrap” as “unserviceable critical national assets.”

This reframing has driven a transformative partnership with experts to manage these assets responsibly. The era of controversial public auctions—which often saw valuable national iron assets disappear, depriving Nigeria of materials for repurposing and industrialisation—is now over.

Today, a systematic process ensures these materials are reused or responsibly processed, with revenue reinvested into the Corporation. This home-grown solution is a commendable breakthrough that proves Nigerians can effectively solve national challenges.

The critical legislative gap: Targeting the market

While the NRC’s internal reforms are laudable, they alone cannot stem the tide. The root enabler of this vandalism is the thriving, unregulated market for stolen metal. To kill the vandal’s incentive, we must eradicate the demand.

Therefore, there is an urgent need for the National Assembly to enact legislation that:

1. Prohibits the buying and selling of any railway materials (serviceable or unserviceable) on the open market.

2. Imposes severe penalties on buyers and merchants of vandalised public assets, effectively targeting the economic drivers of this crime.

3. Mandates stringent federal regulation of all scrap metal dealers nationwide.

THE SCRAP DEALER NEXUS

The opaque operations of scrap dealers are a major concern. Their compounds are often shrouded, hiding the provenance of their materials. This unregulated space fuels not only railway vandalism but also community theft—from iron crossing bars in homes to street lamp holders.

Trailers loaded with questionable materials move freely from cities and expressways to unknown destinations. Without regulating this sector, our fight against vandalism remains superficial.

CONCLUSION

The partnership and innovation under Dr. Opeifa’s leadership at the NRC demonstrate what is possible with commitment and vision.

However, to secure our railways, power installations, and other critical assets, we must complement this institutional resolve with strong, deterrence-based law. Legislation that dismantles the market for stolen public property is not an option; it is a national imperative for Nigeria’s security and industrial future.

*Onyedikachi Stanley Onovo, Ph.D

FCAI, ANIPR

onyedikachionovo1@gmail.com excellentdikachi@yahoo.com