Rivers State Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has lent his voice to calls for a cut in the revenue accruable to the Federal Government from the Federation Account.
He urged the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to slash the federal share from 52.68 per cent to 40 per cent; increase the state slice from 26.72 per cent to 40 per cent and reduce local governments’ share from 20.60 per cent to 20 per cent.
Wike’s proposal in a statement by his media aide Kelvin Ebiri, came barely two days after Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu initiated a similar push.
Wike spoke when members of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), led by its chairman Elisa N. Mbam, visited him yesterday at the Government House in Port Harcourt.
Governor Wike observed that the current revenue sharing formula as prescribed by the military since 1992 has become unsustainable.
Wike said: “Using the same formula of 1992 as a basis for revenue allocation in this country is so unfortunate. And to worsen the situation under a democratic dispensation, since 1999 till now, our country has not reviewed the revenue allocation formula.”
Justifying his call for a reduction in the federal share of national revenue, the governor said the Federal Government has abdicated its responsibility of providing security and basic infrastructure to the federating states.
“You people should reduce the percentage of the federal government. Give them 40 per cent. Give the states 40 per cent, give Local Government 20 per cent. In that way, most of the responsibilities that belong to the federal government will now be taken away and given to the states,” Wike said.
