BY EDMOND ODOK – President Muhammadu Buhari has requested the Nigerian Senate to screen and confirm Alhaji Mohammed Shehu for appointment as the new Chairman of Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).
The President’s request for the confirmation of Shehu was contained in a letter read at Wednesday’s plenary by Senate President, Ahmad Lawan.
According to the letter: “In accordance with the provision of Section 154 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, I am pleased to forward for confirmation by the Senate, the appointment of Mohammed Bello Shehu, as the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.
Bello will be taking over from Elias Mbam whose first tenure that ended in November 2015 and was reappointed in 2016 but not confirmed and sworn in until 2019.
With the development, Shehu will be screened by the appropriate Senate committee for possible confirmation.
Forefront recalls that about two months ago, the media was awash with claims of Engineer Mbam’s quitting the Commission through a resignation letter he signed on the 11th of April, 2022, and sent to President Muhammadu Buhari through the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).
According to the letter, Mbam’s resignation as the RMAFC chairman was effective from the 16th of April, 2022, attributing the decision to the pursuit of his political interest as a governorship aspirant in Ebonyi State.
It is RMAFC’s responsibility to give the country a new revenue formula, which constitutionally, is scheduled for review every five years.
The Commission was established by Decree No.49 of 1989 (now an Act of the National Assembly) to handle revenue allocation and fiscal matters on a continuous basis.
