By Favour Nnbaugwu

The governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi has raised strong objection to the paltry monthly allocation to the state which he said is not enough for the state to meet its obligations to its people.

Ajomobi tabled his protest of the paltry allocation to Oyo in particular at Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC in Abuja. He said that the monthly N2.3billion allocation to the state from the federation account cannot foot the bill of the state which spends N4.2 billion monthly on salaries and wages with its more than 2,000 schools spread across the state and 35,000 teachers to carter for.

He said, “This cannot be feasible with an allocation of N2.3 billion monthly from the Federation Account”. According to him the clamor by governors for change in the revenue Allocation Formula has become necessary if states and local governments are to attain any appreciable development height in the near future.

He stated, “There is need for the proposed Revenue Allocation Formula to be fair, just and equitable, people and development oriented”

To drive home his said “We do not know whether if we change things will improve, but for things to change, we must change” He said that because Nigeria is an agrarian society, it will do the nation well if we invest more in agriculture, “but no state can achieve maximum agricultural investment, except if the Federal Government as the “Father to states and Local Governments” decides to be more supportive by allowing the states to have more funds.

However, Engr. Elias Mbam, Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) though admitted that the only constant thing in life is change said that states’ development cannot be adequately funded by the allocations gotten from the federation account.

According to him, “States must learn to diversify and built up their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to augment their monthly allocations”. He equally advised that states, local governments and stakeholders should not hesitate to register their grievances, concerns and suggestions with the Commission whose constitutional duties include advising the Federal Government on issues that borders on growth and development