RMAFC canvasses economic diversification to meet realities

The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has called for more economic diversification to meet realities in the country.

This was contained in a statement signed by Maryam Umar Yusuf, Head of Information and Public Relations of the Commission, on Wednesday.

The statement revealed that during a strategic retreat organised for members of the Mobilisation and Diversification Committee (M&DC), the RMAFC underscored the urgent need for government at all levels to embark on transformative economic diversification to meet up with current economic realities.

Making his opening remark on the theme, “Clarifying the Strategic Role of the Mobilisation and Diversification Committee and Leveraging Diversification Mandate to Drive Nigeria’s Economic Transformation” held in Calabar, the Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Muhammed Bello Shehu, said the retreat was designed to evaluate existing revenue mobilisation frameworks, explore innovative avenues for economic diversification, strengthen collaboration with subnationals and other relevant stakeholders, and most importantly, develop actionable recommendations that fit into the national policy.

Represented by the Federal Commissioner representing Kwara State, Honourable Ismail Mohammed Agaka, the Chairman said: “Nigeria’s fiscal trajectory is at a crossroads. While the Federal Government continues to face growing expenditure needs, internally generated revenue (IGR) remains insufficient across most states. The time has come for all stakeholders to adopt a deliberate and data-driven approach to revenue mobilisation and economic diversification.”

The Mobilisation and Diversification Committee Chairman and Federal Commissioner representing Edo State in the Commission, Honourable Victor Eboigbe, disclosed that the main reason for the retreat was to carefully examine issues affecting the committee’s performance and deliberate on innovative and actionable ways to engender realistic economic diversification at all levels that will align with the current economic realities in the country.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the retreat, the Committee recommended the inclusion of economic diversification efforts of governments at all levels as one of the proxies for sharing the revenue allocation formula. It also emphasised the need to sensitise the subnationals by collaborating with the six regional development commissions to organise zonal advocacy.

The communiqué further recommended that the Commission should come up with a National Policy document on economic diversification, taking into consideration economic potential and the peculiarities of the three tiers of government.

It added that the Mobilisation and Diversification Committee should collaborate with all relevant stakeholders to obtain information that would guide the committee in carrying out its mandate.

Other recommendations include fostering Public-Private Partnerships and facilitating collaboration amongst the Federal, States, and Local Government Councils to boost investment and economic growth.

It also recommended organising zonal advocacy to enhance revenue generation of the tiers of government by bringing the informal sector into the tax net using banks and the financial sector. The Committee further advised that government at all levels should embark on projects with huge revenue potential and job content, alongside the urgent continuation of infrastructural development of past administrations.

For continuity, the Committee recommended that past programmes of the Commission on economic diversification at all levels should be rebranded and reorganised to reflect the current economic realities in the country.