Who is afraid of new revenue allocation formula?

The Nation

25 February 2012

Who is afraid of new revenue allocation formula?

 

IT is really not surprising that the Northern political elite and technocrats are calling for a new revenue allocation formula, arguing that some states, especially in the South South, are favoured by the formula in operation. Speaking on behalf of his colleagues during the week, Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, who is also the chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, argued that the existing sharing scheme is inequitable and unsustainable. He posited that many of the states in the North, including Niger, are barely surviving and lack the capacity to undertake major capital projects. He therefore called for a review of the formula within the year.

This has been the song of many political leaders, patriots and scholars from the South in the past decades. However, the prisms are different. During the Obasanjo National Political Reform Conference (NPRC), delegates from the Niger Delta argued strongly for resource control, fiscal federalism and genuine restructuring of the country.