The outgoing commissioners of Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission on Wednesday called for financial autonomy to strengthen the commission for effective service delivery.
The commissioners made the call during a valedictory session in honour of the 20 outgoing members of the commission whose tenure expired on Wednesday.
Speaking on their challenges while in office, a member who represented Benue State, Samuel Magbe, said that the commission was not well funded, which contributed to the low morale of staff members.
Mr Magbe said, “When you go out to monitor the activities of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Central Bank, and so on, you see that there is a wide disparity between us and them. But I hope that the President will do something about that for this commission to move forward.’’
The commissioner who represented Ogun State in the commission, Adebayo Fari, called for adequate funding and human capital development for the commission.
Mr Fari said, “The issue has been moved by this administration under the leadership of our chairman, to actually do a lot of training. Aside that, I think there is still a need to recruit more hands in the areas of accounting, statistics, economics and tax administration, so that they can have the capacity to functions well.’’
Another outgone commissioner, Modu Julur, who represented Yobe State, said that RMAFC should be treated well because the commission was delivering services that were of immense benefits to the federation.
“I think the government should first of all digitalise the RMAFC and ensure that it is well funded to carry out its activities effectively,” he said.
The commissioners therefore called on relevant stakeholders to support the Bill on RMAFC’s Financial Autonomy pending before the Senate.
According to them, the bill, among other issues, is recommending the review of the salaries of ambassadors and some political office holders.
The bill is also seeking the review of the Federal Allocation Formula, staff training, and improvement of the general condition of the office.
They said that the effort would help the commission to comfortably and effectively carry out its duties.
Some of the members, who spoke during the occasion, eulogised the Chairman of the commission, Mohammed Shehu, for the achievements recorded under his leadership.
On his part, Mr Shehu commended the outgoing members for their patriotism and commitment to nation-building by ensuring that the commission attained a world class standard.
He further noted the commissioners’ commitment to ensuring effective service delivery despite the commission’s lean resources and poor funding.
The chairman also recalled the extraordinary support that the commissioners rendered to the commission through their contribution to the various committees they served.
“It has been our wish to reposition RMAFC to become a world class revenue mobilisation commission. Since we came here, we are still working in progress, we have tried, we are trying and we will continue to try,” Mr Shehu said.
He therefore prayed to God to reward the commissioners for their sacrifices; and wished that they would be reappointed so that they could continue to support the commission.
The Secretary to the commission, Nwaze Okechukwu, also praised Mr Shehu for the achievements recorded under his watch, and described the tenure of the outgoing commissioners as worthwhile.
Mr Okechukwu commended the commissioners, noting that they were able to execute their national assignment successfully, and wished them success in their future