RMAFC Calls for Economic Diversification to Address Fiscal Challenges
By Patience Ikpeme
The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has called for governments at all levels to undertake transformative economic diversification efforts to cope with current economic realities.
The call was made at the opening ceremony of a retreat for members of the Mobilisation and Diversification Committee (M&DC), held in Calabar, Cross River State.
A statement from the RMAFC on Tuesday said that the Commission’s Chairman, Dr. Mohammed Bello Shehu, who was represented by Honourable Ismail Mohammed Agaka, the Federal Commissioner for Kwara State, stated that the country’s fiscal trajectory is at a critical point. “Nigeria’s fiscal trajectory is at a crossroads,” he said.
Dr. Shehu noted that while the federal government faces increasing expenditure needs, internally generated revenue (IGR) remains inadequate across most states. He added that the time has come for all stakeholders to adopt a deliberate and data-driven approach to revenue mobilization and economic diversification.
The Chairman of the M&DC and Federal Commissioner for Edo State, Honourable Victor Eboigbe, disclosed that the retreat was organized to examine the issues affecting the committee’s performance and to deliberate on innovative ways to achieve realistic economic diversification that is in line with the country’s current economic situation.
At the end of the retreat, a communique was issued with several recommendations. The committee suggested that the economic diversification efforts of governments at all levels should be included as a criterion for sharing the revenue allocation formula.
The communique also recommended collaborating with the six regional development commissions to organize zonal advocacy to raise awareness among subnationals.
Furthermore, the committee proposed that the RMAFC should develop a National Policy document on economic diversification, which would take into account the economic potential and peculiarities of the three tiers of government.
Other recommendations include fostering Public-Private Partnerships to boost investment and economic growth. The committee also advised organizing zonal advocacy to enhance revenue generation for all tiers of government by bringing the informal sector into the tax net using banks and the financial sector.
It was also recommended that government at all levels should embark on projects with huge revenue potential and job creation content and that infrastructural development from past administrations should be continued for the sake of continuity.
For the purpose of continuity, the committee also recommended that past programs of the commission on economic diversification should be rebranded and reorganized to reflect the country’s current economic realities.
