New RMAFC Chairman, Shehu Resumes Duty, Courts Stakeholders
- Tasks staff on dedication, commitment
BY EDMOND ODOK – The new Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mohammed Bello Shehu has resumed duties for an initial five-year tenure with a demand on staff to demonstrate greater commitment to effective service delivery.
Speaking after resuming duties at the Commission on Monday, Mr Shehu said the task ahead requires full commitment and dedication to duty from all critical stakeholders, even as he expressed willingness to work harmoniously with the Board members, Management and Staff of the Commission to achieve its set goals.
While pledging his readiness to effectively execute the Commission’s mandates, especially on monitoring and disbursement of revenue accruals into the Federation account, he said this would be done alongside advising the Federal, State and Local government areas in the country on Fiscal Efficiency and innovative methods to improve their revenue generation profiles.
A statement by RMAFC Public Relations Officer (PRO), Christian Nwachukwu also quoted the Chairman as expressing gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for the opportunity to serve the nation as RMAFC helmsman.
Until his appointment, Bello Shehu was the Commission’s Secretary and took over from immediate past Chairman, Engineer Elias Mbam, who resigned to contest the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primaries in Abia State.
Following the Senate confirmation of his appointment as the Commission’s substantive Chairman, Bello was sworn in by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, shortly before the commencement of the Federal Executive Council (FEC)’s weekly virtual meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He had told State House correspondents after being sworn-in that the Commission will focused ensuring more revenue accrues to the country within the confines of extant laws.
According to him; “I can assure the president that the commission as one of the 14 constitutionally recognised ones will do what it takes to assist him get more revenues before he leaves office next year.”
Bello, who promised that the Commission would maintain its independence as enshrined in the constitution, however assured of robust partnership with all stakeholders to strengthen Nigeria’s monetary mechanisms.
“The task is challenging. So, our task as a revenue mobilization agency is how we can assist Mr President to get more revenues for the federation and block leakages”, he said, but assured that the Commission would not shirked its constitutional responsibility of monitoring accruals into the Federation Account, disbursement and mobilsation of revenue.
He said RMAFC was also ready to address agitations around the salaries of political office holders and judicial officers, as enshrined in the constitution, noting that there has been no review of the current packages since 2008.
On a new revenue allocation formula, Bello said the commission successfully completed its work around February this year, and the report was submitted to Mr President for necessary action.
