Kano State Commissioner for Local government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Murtala Sule Garo has called on the federal government to review allocation sharing formula by providing more funds to local government for the execution of viable projects of the grassroots.
According to him, the Federal Government is enjoying over 52 per cent of the formula, states are enjoying over 22 per cent while that of 774 Local Governments remains 20.6 per cent which he described as meagre looking at the huge responsibilities of the Local Governments.
Alhaji Sule Garo made the call on Saturday, during a two-day sensitization and advocacy programme on data gathering and management for Kano State and its Local Governments Chairmen organised by revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and held at Africa Government House, Kano.
He described the sensitised programme as timely and expressed optimism on the outcome of the deliberation adding that it will improve revenue generation at the local level.
Earlier, the head of the delegation from (RMAFC) who is also a Federal Commissioner representing Niger State, Alhaji Ibrahim Bagudu said the Commission organized the exercise on data gathering and management to interact, share ideas, rub minds and chart ways on how state and local governments can create and maintain a functional data bank for the purpose of timely record-keeping that enable the state to render a credible data to RMAFC.
Alhaji Ibrahim Bagudu called on local governments to diversify their economies for more sources of incomes rather than depending largely on federal allocations.
Parts of the resolutions made of the end of the exercise include the need to upgrade the existing solid minerals unit under the office of the Special Adviser into a full-fledged ministry, advised local governments in the state to make concerted effort to collect more revenue on ground and tenements rate among their taxes.
It also called for automation of database to conform with global practice, enforce the use of e-treasury excepts, resuscitation of tourism infrastructure and capturing of small and made enterprises among others.
