The Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Muhammad Bello Shehu, has called for enhanced collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to tackle revenue leakages and ensure the recovery of unremitted or lost revenues to government coffers.
The appeal was made during a courtesy visit to the EFCC’s Executive Chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, in Abuja.
Shehu emphasized the need for the EFCC’s assistance not only in enforcement but also in intelligence gathering and data sharing regarding government revenue from various sources.
“We are calling on EFCC for more collaboration, not only in the area of enforcement but also intelligence gathering and data sharing concerning government revenue from any source,” Shehu said.
He highlighted the success of previous collaborations between RMAFC and EFCC, such as the recovery of N74 billion from unremitted and under-remitted revenues between 2008 and 2015.
He added that another collaboration from 2016 to 2019 has so far recovered over N216 billion.
Shehu pointed out that many revenue-generating agencies referred to as Government Owned Enterprises (GOE) by the Accountant General of the Federation’s office, generate revenue, spend from it, and remit the balance as operating surplus to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).
This practice, he noted, contradicts Section 162 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates that all revenues collected by the government be paid into the Federation Account.
In his remarks, EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede stressed the importance of transparency and accountability in government operations to ensure proper management of revenue.
He urged the RMAFC to address the loopholes in the revenue generation and mobilisation system that allow for leakages.
“There are things we have been able to do together within the scopes of our mandate and your mandate as well.
“Transparency and accountability should be embedded in our public life as a nation. That’s the only way we can move forward,” Olukoyede said.
He highlighted the need for systemic reforms, noting that the entrenched system in Nigeria encourages corruption.
Olukoyede called for a stakeholder meeting to address these issues and emphasized the need for ministries to focus on their core responsibilities rather than unrelated activities like awarding contracts.
“Let’s look at our system of revenue generation, the system that allows leakages in mobilisation and appropriation of funds. If we don’t look at the system, we will continue to chase shadows,” Olukoyede added.
Both leaders expressed optimism that Nigeria can achieve better financial management and accountability through their combined efforts and the support of President Bola Tinubu‘s administration.
