Arewa Think Tank has defended the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mohammed Shehu, saying the commission’s interventions on fiscal matters are within its mandate
Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, the Convener, stated this in a statement reacting to criticisms against the commission over recent pronouncements relating to Nigeria’s fiscal and economic policies
Yakubu described the criticism of the RMAFC Chairman as misplaced, arguing that the Commission is a constitutionally established institution with a direct responsibility for issues relating to revenue mobilisation, allocation and the financial relationship among the three tiers of government
According to him, attempts to portray the Commission’s interventions on fiscal matters as an overreach of its mandate amount to a misunderstanding of the constitutional responsibilities assigned to RMAFC
The statement reads, “The Arewa Think Tank Convener said it was therefore wrong for anyone to suggest that the Chairman had no business speaking on issues with direct implications for revenue generation, revenue allocation and the Federation Account “Since when did the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission become an agency that is expected to remain silent on matters that directly affect revenue mobilisation and the allocation of the Federation’s resources?”
He said the Commission’s interventions should rather be viewed as part of its institutional responsibility to ensure that revenues accruing to the Federation are properly monitored and equitably distributed
Yakubu noted that RMAFC has consistently participated in national discussions concerning taxation, revenue allocation and fiscal reforms During the 2025 public hearing on the tax reform bills, for instance, the RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Shehu, publicly stated the Commission’s position on the proposed reforms and called for adjustments concerning the distribution of Value Added Tax revenue to subnational governments.
Yakubu stressed that public officials should be allowed to discharge their responsibilities without being subjected to unwarranted attacks whenever their positions do not conform to the expectations of particular individuals or interest groups
He, however, urged critics of the RMAFC Chairman to engage the substance of the Commission’s position rather than questioning its right to participate in fiscal-policy discussions