Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufa’i, has advocated a restructuring of the sharing formula of Nigeria’s revenue in favour of States.
El-Rufa’i, who made his position known during a policy and book presentation in Abuja by a Director of the Carnegie Africa Programme,
Dr. Zainab Usman, said if the revenue-sharing formula is reversed to 20 percent for the Federal Government and 80 percent for States, the Federal Government will then relinquish most of its current responsibilities to the States.
According to him, the new formula will be the only way citizens can hold governors to account.
Recall that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had listed restructuring as part of its campaign promises to Nigerians prior to the 2015 elections, which brought the party to power.
Also, a restructuring committee of the APC chaired by el-Rufa’i, had come up with a number of recommendations aimed at engendering true federalism in the country.
Among other things, the committee recommended that power be devolved to states on issues such as policing and resource control However, a few weeks before the end of the APC-led government, the party has yet to implement the recommendations made by the committee.
Speaking at the event, the Kaduna governor said the theme of the event, which was on how Nigeria can build a post-oil economic future, was crucial, noting that if the country doesn’t end fuel subsidy now, the economy might go bankrupt sooner than expected.
Also speaking, a former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, called for devolution of powers, saying Nigeria is the only country in the world with three federating units. Soludo, who is the Anambra State governor, stressed the need for the country to have what he called “real fiscal federalism”.
Earlier in her remarks, the author of the book, Zainab, noted that sub nationals needed to do more in terms of revenue generation as only four states in Nigeria can survive without allocations from the federal government.
