The Senate has initiated moves to amend relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution to allow for an upward review of the current revenue allocation formula in favour of the Federal Government.
Under the existing formula, the Federal Government receives 52.68 per cent of federally collected revenue, while the 36 states get 26.72 per cent and the 774 local government councils share 20.60 per cent.
Despite this distribution, the Senate argues that the Federal Government’s share is no longer sufficient to meet its expanding national responsibilities.
The proposed constitutional amendment is contained in a bill sponsored by Senator Sunday Karimi (Kogi West), which passed first reading at plenary on Tuesday.
Speaking to journalists after the session, Karimi said the bill was aimed at rescuing the Federal Government from what he described as grossly inadequate revenue in the face of mounting obligations.
According to him, the current revenue sharing arrangement is outdated and unsustainable, placing excessive financial pressure on the Federal Government amid rising infrastructure decay and worsening insecurity nationwide.
“The proposed alteration seeks to increase the Federal Government’s revenue allocation in order to address mounting financial obligations and national responsibilities across Nigeria,” Karimi said.
He noted that federal roads across the country have deteriorated significantly, while huge resources are being deployed to combat banditry, terrorism, and other security threats.
“The responsibilities borne by the Federal Government, particularly the construction and maintenance of federal roads nationwide, have become overwhelming under the existing revenue formula, in addition to the enormous demands of internal security,” he added.
Karimi stressed that a review of the allocation formula had become inevitable to enable the Federal Government to meet these obligations more effectively.
He further noted that inadequate funding has affected the military’s capacity to tackle terrorism, expressing optimism that an increased revenue share would strengthen national security efforts.
