Closing revenue leakages key to Nigeria’s economic stability — Gov Mbah

Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, has said the elimination of revenue leakages in the Federation Account would serve as a critical pathway to Nigeria’s fiscal sustainability and long-term economic stability.

The governor made the assertion at the opening ceremony of the ongoing retreat of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) Postmortem Sub-Committee on Assessing Fiscal and Sectoral Policies for Closing Revenue Leakages in the Federation Account, held at the Enugu International Conference Centre on Monday.

Governor Mbah, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, described the retreat as timely, noting that Nigeria is at a crucial point where competing development needs require efficient revenue mobilisation, prudent fiscal management, and strong intergovernmental coordination.

“At a time when the nation is pursuing fiscal sustainability, the challenge of revenue leakages demands urgent, coordinated, and evidence-based solutions,” the governor said.

He expressed appreciation to the Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, for her leadership and commitment to strengthening fiscal governance, as well as for selecting Enugu State as host of the retreat.

He also commended the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and the FAAC Postmortem Sub-Committee for their sustained efforts in promoting transparency, accountability, and fairness in the management of the Federation Account.

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The governor acknowledged the pivotal roles of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Commissioners of Finance, State Accountants-General, and heads of revenue-generating agencies in leading the cause of safeguarding the nation’s public finances.

According to him, Enugu State has placed fiscal discipline, efficient resource management, and value-driven governance at the core of its development agenda, stressing that plugging revenue leakages is indispensable to achieving sustainable growth and delivering tangible benefits to citizens.

He said the retreat provided a unique platform to critically examine existing fiscal and sectoral policies, identify systemic, legal, and administrative loopholes, and propose practical reforms aimed at improving revenue accruals to the Federation Account.

The governor further reaffirmed Enugu State’s support for national fiscal reforms anchored on equity, fairness, and justice in revenue allocation and management, in line with constitutional and statutory provisions.

While noting that Enugu’s decision to host the retreat, even at short notice, underscored the state’s commitment to collaborative governance and its readiness to contribute meaningfully to national policy dialogues that promote economic stability, Governor Mbah expressed confidence that discussions at the retreat would translate into tangible fiscal results.

He encouraged participants to engage in frank discussions, innovative thinking, and peer learning, expressing hope that the outcomes of the retreat would translate into measurable improvements in revenue performance and service delivery nationwide.

Speaking earlier, the Minister of State for Finance and Chairman of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to equity, fairness and justice in the management of the Federation Account, noting that the retreat was aimed at critically assessing fiscal and sectoral policies to identify and plug systemic, legal and administrative revenue leakages.

The Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, described the Federation Account as the fiscal lifeline of the nation, but lamented that revenue shortfalls, oil price volatility, weak non-oil revenue performance and systemic leakages had continued to undermine its credibility, proposing digital revenue assurance, stronger inter-agency coordination, post-mortem reviews and governance reforms as key solutions.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Dr. Mohammed Shehu, said the retreat was convened to shape the future of Nigeria’s revenue mobilisation by closing leakages, enhancing transparency and optimising inflows into the Federation Account.

In his welcome address, the Chairman of the FAAC Post-Mortem Sub-Committee, Hon. Abdulazeez Idris, said the committee was set up to conduct in-depth analysis of Federation Account statements and reports of revenue-generating agencies to strengthen accountability and fiscal discipline.

The retreat attracted key fiscal stakeholders, including officials of the Federal Ministry of Finance, RMAFC, the FAAC Postmortem Sub-Committee, and representatives of federal and state revenue institutions.