Ikpeazu: Nigeria Can’t Continue to Shy away from Fiscal Federalism

As the struggle to stop the federal government from collecting value added tax (VAT) rages on, the Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, yesterday called for the enthronement of fiscal federalism in Nigeria, saying the country cannot continue to ignore the clamour for true federalism principle.

He said the time is ripe for Nigerian states to be vested with the power to manage the resources within their respective domains, and in the case of natural resources, pay loyalties to the federal government.

Ikpeazu bared his mind when he received a delegation of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) led by the Federal Commissioner representing Abia State, Dr. Chris Akomas, at the Government Lodge in Aba.

While recalling the sharing of power between the federal government and the federating regional governments in the First Republic, Ikpeazu noted that then development was faster due to fiscal federalism.

He pointed out that the defunct Eastern Region of Nigeria was ranked as the fastest growing economy in the world during the reign of Dr. Michael

Okpara when there was true federalism with different regions controlling their resources.

Apparently alluding to the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), Ikpeazu faulted the 30 percent reservation for exploration in frontier states.

According to him, “Sincerely speaking, I don’t think the federal government should reserve any amount, even if one percent for mineral development, because the federal government has no ownership of minerals,” he said, adding that the federal ministry of mines and mineral development should be concerned with policy-making.