RMAFC, House C’ttee Move to Address Nigeria’s Macro Economic Challenges
Emma Okonji
Worried about the development where Nigeria’s macro economy is improving without making meaningful impact on the lives of Nigerians, the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), in partnership with the House Committee on Finance, organised stakeholders strategic retreat in Lagos to address the anomaly.
Participants at the retreat identified some of the challenges, which they said were largely driven by food inflation at 17.52 per cent on a year-on-year basis, caused by over-dependence on oil revenue and high cost of revenue collection by government agencies, among others.
According to them, the stakeholders strategic retreat, themed: ‘Beyond Collection: Revenue Mobilisation for Economic Growth-Building Strategies for Efficient Resource Allocation’, seeks to identify Nigeria’s challenges, with a view to addressing them for the benefits of Nigerians.
In his welcome remarks, the Chairman, House Committee on Finance, James Faleke, said every Naira mobilised on Nigerian soil is a Naira owed to the Nigerian people, and must be well distributed and utilised to positively impact the Nigerian people.
“The lecture alone does not build our roads, staff our hospitals, or lift our people out of hardship. It is allocation, discipline, transparent planning, and efficiency that turns revenue into mission. This commitment to historical revenue allocation to our states has remained a clear priority of government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the figures affirmed to that.
“Federal revenue has grown from $29.07 trillion to $88.91 trillion as of 2025, and every state has recorded positive growth in allocation. No state, no constituency, no local government has been left behind. That is a record-holding fact. Our task in this retreat is to ask the harder questions and to find out if every Naira allocated is translated into value for our people,” Faleke said.
In his opening remarks, the Chairman of RMAFC, Dr. Mohammed Bello Shehu, represented by a Commissioner at RMAFC, Kolawole Daniel Abimbola, said the Nigeria economy remained a critical stage where the demand for sustainable development, fiscal stability, and inclusive economic growth continued to increase amidst competitive pressures on public finances. Revenue mobilisation has therefore become not merely a constitutional obligation but a strategic national priority.
“The ability of the government at all levels to provide quality infrastructure, improve social services, promote economic diversification, and guarantee national security fundamentally depends on the adequacy, sustainability, and efficient use of public revenues.
“Over the years, Nigeria has made remarkable progress in expanding non-oil revenue sources through tax reforms and institutional reforms across various revenue-generating agencies. While these initiatives have produced encouraging results, significant opportunities still exist to improve revenue performance through enhanced compliance, elimination of leakages, deployment of technology, institutional coordination, improved governance, and evidence-based policy formulation,” Shehu said.
According to him, sustainable economic transformation requires that every Naira mobilised be efficiently allocated, prudently managed, transparently accounted for, and strategically invested in productive sectors capable of stimulating economic growth, creating employment opportunities, reducing poverty, and improving citizens’ welfare.
In her presentation titled: ‘Nigeria’s Revenue Allocation Journey-Trends, Growth Patterns and Implication for States’, an Economist and Public Policy Expert at Nasarawa State University, Dr. Victoria Hauwa Ibrahim, explained that revenue allocations to states and local government by the federal government have increased in the last three years of the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, but questioned what the states are doing with the money.
“It is one good news to celebrate that Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has increased revenue allocation to states, but what are states doing with money?” she asked.
According to her12 states in Nigeria significantly grew their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), between 2019 to 2024, with Lagos State leading in growing IGR. She however frowned at the few states that depended largely on revenue from FAAC to develop their states, adding that in the event of global shock, such state that largely depend on FAAC will suffer the most.
In his keynote address titled: ‘From Revenue Collection to Growth: Aligning Revenue Allocation with Economic Development Outcomes’ former Imo State Finance Commissioner, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, advised that Nigeria should invest more on developmental projects that will alleviate the sufferings of the Nigerian people, and called for financial autonomy of states and local governments.
He also called on government to subsidise agriculture production by subsidising fertilizer, farm inputs and the rest that will help farmers to boost food output and reduce food inflation. He also spoke about the need for government to invest more in education and healthcare to reduce poverty.
“Rather than merely alternating the current revenue allocation formula in favour of states as is being proposed, any reduction from the federal government’s share should be allocated to special funds for developmental projects such as agriculture and food security. State budgets should be tied to measurable results rather than spending inputs,” Uwaleke said.