RMAFC, ALGON Forge Stronger Alliance on Local Government Autonomy

The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has pledged to deepen collaboration with the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) to strengthen local government administration, advance fiscal autonomy and ensure that increased resources translate into development at the grassroots.

The commitment was made when a delegation of RMAFC federal commissioners, led by Hon. Aliyu Abdulkadir, the federal commissioner representing Nasarawa State and chairman, State and Local Government Monitoring Committee, paid a courtesy visit to the national president of ALGON, Hon. Bello Lawal, at the association’s national secretariat in Abuja.

Speaking on behalf of the RMAFC chairman, Dr Mohammed Bello Shehu, Hon. Abdulkadir said the newly constituted Committee was established to deepen engagement with the third tier of government and explore practical measures to strengthen local governments. He stressed that, as a constitutional body, RMAFC is empowered to monitor accruals and disbursements into and from the Federation Account, to which local governments are constitutionally entitled.

Hon. Abdulkadir gave the assurance that the Commission is ready to ensure that the autonomy of local government, as recently pronounced by the Supreme Court, is given effect to. He also urged local governments to strengthen their internally generated revenue and reduce over-dependence on allocations from the centre.

Also speaking, Sen. Marafa Bashir Abba, federal commissioner representing Taraba State and vice chairman of the State and Local Government Monitoring Committee, said the engagement would generate ideas capable of improving the Committee’s work and strengthening collaboration with ALGON, particularly in addressing challenges confronting local governments, including issues surrounding local government elections.

Responding, Hon. Bello Lawal welcomed the initiative, describing RMAFC’s engagement as timely and critical to the future of grassroots governance. He said, “When you empower local government, you empower the whole country because local government is where people actually live.”

He further said, “A strengthened local governments constitute the bedrock and foundation for the development of our country.” Hon. Bello called for greater participation of local governments in revenue-allocation processes and assured the Commission of ALGON’s readiness to collaborate on capacity building, fiscal discipline and improved utilisation of public resources.

Other members of the delegation from RMAFC included Hon. Kabeer Muhammed Usman, Federal Commissioner, Gombe State; Hon. Madu Ali Juluri, Federal Commissioner, Yobe State; Hon. Rabiu Garba, Federal Commissioner, Zamfara State; and Hon. (Amb.) Jacob Ayuba Mbako, Federal Commissioner representing the FCT.

The engagement reinforces RMAFC’s commitment to strategic partnerships that promote fiscal accountability, effective revenue management, local government autonomy and inclusive development at the grassroots.