Gov Mbah Advocates Blocking Revenue Leakages For Nigeria’s Economic Stability

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

The governor stated this at 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.

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

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

He expressed appreciation to the Minister of State for Finance, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, for her 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 efforts in promoting transparency, accountability, and fairness in the management of the Federation Account.

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.

He said Enugu State had placed fiscal discipline, efficient resource management, and value-driven governance at the core of its development agenda. 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 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.

The Minister of State for Finance and Chairman of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, said the retreat was aimed at assessing fiscal and sectoral policies to identify and plug systemic, legal and administrative revenue leakages.Uu

The Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, lamented that revenue shortfalls, oil price volatility, weak non-oil revenue performance and systemic leakages had continued to undermine federation account’s credibility, and proposed digital revenue assurance, stronger inter-agency coordination, post-mortem reviews and governance reforms as key solutions.

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.