ACF backs northern govs on revenue allocation review

The foremost northern socio-political organisation, Arewa Consultative Forum, on Monday, backed the call for a review of the federal revenue formula.

The ACF, which spoke through its National Publicity Secretary, Anthony Sani, said the ‘huge allocation’ to the South-South, home to Nigeria’s vast oil resources, was injustice.

Sani, in an SMS to one of our correspondents, insisted that the collection of derivation fund on offshore exploration could not be justified by the Niger Delta.

He asked, “What does your sense of justice tell you when an oil-producing state collects as much as N24bn per month from the Federation Account while a non-oil producing state collects about N4bn or even less per month? Does offshore exploration also degrade the farming environment in the Niger Delta?”

Northern governors had recently asked for a review of the federal allocation, arguing that the revenue formula did not reflect “current realities” in the country.

Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum, Aliyu Babangida of Niger State, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, had said that the revenue formula should be reviewed to guarantee equity and fairness in the distribution of the nation’s wealth.

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