The Senate on Thursday amended and granted powers to the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission (RMFAC) to oversee cash flows in increments and disbursements from the Federation account.

The Senate passed the resolution during plenary, presided over by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin.

RMFAC’s composition and mode of operations were also amended to ensure that the federal, state, and local governments are adequately provided with the constitutionally mandated resources to address the challenges of governance and development.

In order to achieve RMFAC’s newly added responsibilities, the lawmakers also approved additional funding for the Commission, which they said had previously hindered the effective performance of its constitutional responsibilities.

The Senate arrived at the resolutions after it approved the recommendations of the Committees on National Planning and Economic Affairs, Finance, and Appropriations, as presented by the Chairman of RMFAC, Senator Abdullahi Yahaya Abubakar (PDP, Kebbi North).

As prescribed by the report of the Committees, the senators repealed and enacted Cap R7 of the Commission’s Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, which paved the way for RMFAC to monitor cash flows from the Federation account.

In his address, Abdullahi reminded the Senate that the Bill was debated on 7th May 2024 and was forwarded from the House of Representatives for the concurrence of the Senate and passage.

“However, because of the importance and implications of the provisions of the Bill for the three tiers of government in the Federation, it was referred to the Committees on National Planning and Economic Affairs, Finance, and Appropriations for further legislative action,” Abdullahi said.

Explaining what necessitated the Bill, Abdullahi stated that, due to the prevailing challenges of dwindling revenue and geometric population growth, along with the attendant pressure on scarce resources, effective resource mobilisation, allocation, and utilisation cannot be over-emphasised.

Abdullahi also noted that the Act had not been updated to reflect the changing realities of the time over a 20-year period. He explained:

“While the laws establishing revenue agencies and institutions for the Federation have been updated to respond to contemporary challenges in terms of productivity and capacity, RMFAC, which is expected to monitor these organisations and assist them in mobilising the required resources for the three tiers of government in Nigeria, has comparatively remained obsolete in terms of its operational capacity, largely due to the limitations of its legal framework, thus diminishing its capability to fulfil its mandates.”

“The Committees observed that one of the major factors militating against the performance and effective service delivery of the Commission was the outmoded nature of the extant Act, which this Bill seeks to address.”

In conclusion, Abdullahi emphasised that inputs were made by the Commission, as well as the Ministries of Justice and Finance, and urged the Senate to pass the recommendations of the Bill.

The majority of senators voted in favour of the Bill’s passage after it was put to a vote by Barau Jibrin.