The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC says, about ₦810 billion Non-oil revenue fund remains outstanding for states recommended for funding.
RMAFC Team Two, led by the Federal Commissioner representing Rivers State, Ambassador Desmond Akawor, disclosed this on Wednesday while on an official working visit to the Abia State governor, Alex Otti.
Ambassador Akawor named the three States to be Lagos, Bauchi and Yobe, stating that efforts are ongoing to secure the release of the outstanding funds, adding that approximately ₦210 billion currently available had been proposed for sharing among states, which would amount to about ₦6 billion per state.
Akawor commended the Abia State Government for infrastructural interventions, the projects and initiatives , particularly the State’s intervention at the National War Museum, Umuahia, and pledged that the Commission would make appropriate recommendations.
“With all that we have seen and heard and read, we encourage you to continue,” he said, adding that the team would proceed to inspect the State’s rubber plantation as part of its working visit.
Responding, the Abia State governor, Alex Otti sought the support of RMAFC to enable the state access funding dedicated to the development of non-oil revenue sectors, particularly agriculture, solid minerals and tourism.
Otti said Abia was taking fiscal efficiency seriously, noting that the State had consistently prioritized capital expenditure while keeping the cost of governance under control, adding, “we take budget very, very seriously. The State had dedicated not less than 80 per cent of its expenditure to capital projects in the last three years.
“Abia’s ability to execute major projects despite its relatively low share of federal allocations was largely due to prudent management of available resources. Some of the reasons we are able to do some of the things we are doing here is because we are downright efficient in terms of how we deploy our resources”.
The Governor therefore appealed to the Commission to give Abia favourable consideration in the disbursement of the funds earmarked for States developing alternative sources of revenue.
