Kebbi Govt Assures Of Cooperatin As RMAFC Begins Data Validation Of State, LGAs
From : Ayodele Ajoge, Birnin-Kebbi
The Kebbi State government has assured the Federal government of its cooperation towards accurate validation of data within the State and the Local Government Areas.
This assurance came at the heels of a tour to the State by the delegation from Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission on data verification exercise to the State.
The Deputy Governor of the State, Senator Abubakar Umar Tafida on behalf of the State Governor, Comrade Nasiru Idris stated that the government was ready to provide all necessary data and logistics for the exercise’s success.
He added that members of the State Executive Council and heads of ministries, departments and agencies were present to understand the exercise’s requirements and offer full cooperation.
The deputy governor pointed out that data was central to development of planing and governance, pointing out further that Data is critical to our quest for sustainable development and improved livelihoods for our people.
“We assure you that Kebbi State will continue to provide the necessary support to ensure the success of this important national assignment.” He said.
Earlier in his speech, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) Commissioner, Professor Adekunle Wright said its ongoing nationwide data verification exercise is aimed at ensuring accurate data for sharing revenue among states and local government areas (LGAs).
Wright described the exercise as a critical national assignment that would strengthen the integrity of the indices used to distribute revenue across the federation.
He said it aligns with the commission’s constitutional mandate under Paragraph 32(b) of Part I of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution, which empowers it to continuously review the revenue allocation formula.
According to him, changing socio-economic realities – including population shifts, infrastructure expansion and evolving development needs – make it essential to periodically verify and update the data underpinning revenue allocation.
“It has become necessary to validate the integrity and accuracy of the data that inform revenue distribution across the federation.” He said.
He said further that in 2022 the commission conducted a nationwide capacity-building programme to equip state and local government officials with skills in data gathering and management for computing revenue allocation indices.
“Since arriving in Kebbi, the RMAFC team had been working closely with ministries, departments, agencies and local government authorities to ensure credible data verification and collection.” He added.
