*. Proposes new revenue allocation formula

By Gboyega Akinsanmi

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has described as erroneous attempts to grant legal recognition to six geo-political zones and autonomy to local councils under the on-going review of the 1999 Constitution.

He also expressed strong opposition to the current revenue allocation regime, thereby proposing an entirely new formula that would allocate 35 per cent for the Federal Government; 42 per cent for state governments as well as 23 per cent for local government councils across the states of the federation.

The governor expressed these standpoints in a presentation he made to the Constitution Review Committee (CRC) recently in Abuja, as the position of Lagos State, thereby calling for significant reduction in the constitutional responsibilities allocated to the Federal Government in the exclusive legislative list.

Fashola, who was represented by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeola Ipaye, decried the adverse effect of the current federal structure, which he said, precluded the state governments from performing several constitutional responsibilities under the prevailing legal regime.

He said the Federal Government “is equally unable to function effectively as it holds legislative and executive powers on mattersof local concern which over-stretch its administrative and supervisory abilities,” thus lamenting that the state governments “is at the expense of the Federal Government under the current regime.”

He therefore advocated the principle of appropriateness to guide the sharing of powers between the federal and state governments, saying the principle simply “suggests which order of government is more appropriate to efficiently deal with and effectively supervise a particular subject.”

He, therefore, recommended that the items on the exclusive list be substantially reduced “to reflect the principles of appropriateness and state autonomy. The state legislature should have or share jurisdiction such subjects as police, criminal records, prisons, establishment of air and seaports, electric power generation and distribution and the taxation of incomes, profits and capital gains.”

He also opposed the inclusion of geo-political zones in the constitution, explaining that recognition of a body in a constitution “presupposes that it will have a definite purpose or responsibility and its composition, leadership and administrative structure will have to be defined.

“Since the geo-political zones are not intended to be regional governments, their inclusion in the constitution may cause needless confusion as to their status or significance. Section 14(3)is comprehensive enough to reflect the federal character of the country and the need to promote national unity,” he said.

On the autonomy for local government councils, he said though local councils “guaranteed a share of the funds accruing to the Federation Account, their share is in fact required to be allocated to the relevant states for their benefit in accordance with the applicable state law as stipulated section 162(5).

“While States are federating units, the local councils are intended as administrative structures to assist the state governments in bringing government closer to the people. In this context, any proposal to confer local councils with autonomy, distribute funds directly to them, create a new legislativelist and make them into federating units would be erroneous.

“The use of number of local councils in revenue allocationt has also created an obvious imbalance to the disadvantage of some States. It is best to keep local councils out of the constitution and allow each State to create the number it considers appropriate for its local administration,” he said.

Fashola also rejected the current revenue allocation formula, which according to him, allows the Federal Government take 52.68 per cent of centrally-collected revenues in the Federation Account, leaving the states and local councils with 26.72per cent and 20.60 per cent respectively.

He explained that the formula “has created a glaring and unacceptable imbalance in the financial resources of the three tiers of government taking cognizance of the fact that revenue is central to the existence and functioning of both the Federal Governmentand federating states.”

Having regard to the constitutional allocation of functions as it currently exists, Fashola therefore sought the following for adoption as the new revenue allocation formula, which would allocate 35 per cent for Federal Government; 42 per cent for state governments and 23 per cent for local councils.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/fashola-opposes-geo-political-zones-autonomy-for-councils/138360/

On the Autonomy of Local Govt, Fash had this to say:

“While States are federating units, the local councils are intended as administrative structures to assist the state governments in bringing government closer to the people. In this context, any proposal to confer local councils with autonomy, distribute funds directly to them, create a new legislativelist and make them into federating units would be erroneous.

While on Geo-Political Zones this is what he said:

He also opposed the inclusion of geo-political zones in the constitution, explaining that recognition of a body in a constitution “presupposes that it will have a definite purpose or responsibility and its composition, leadership and administrative structure will have to be defined.

“Since the geo-political zones are not intended to be regional governments, their inclusion in the constitution may cause needless confusion as to their status or significance. Section 14(3)is comprehensive enough to reflect the federal character of the country and the need to promote national unity,”

So till I see a superior argument, I think I'll go with Fashola's submission...

This should make FP,
reserved.Fashola is hereby opposed on LG autonomy but in a standard Federal system,Each state should be able to independently delineate Her local authority/administrative arms!!!

Our Yansh: Space Reserved while I do some research on the subject matter..

Not for sale to persons under 18..

Beware of Mukina2

As long as it implies a significant reduction in the constitutional responsibilities of the F.G,i completely agree with him.
This will also ensure the dividends of democracy is shared relative to the capability of each tier of government,thus benefitting the rank & file of our nation's workforce.it will even go further to reducing mismanagement of govt. funds.

donroxy:
Fashola is hereby opposed on LG autonomy!!!

Supported . . . . . but he made valid points as to the ambiguousness of regional Autonomy . . .

Lol. It appears Lagos State is not ready to share it wealth with other states in it's zone otherwise, I see no reason to argue against geopolitical zones, when a better argument/proposal would have been to collapse the state boundaries and extend a geopolitical zone include homogenous ethnic groups adjacent the zones.

The allocation system should be based on percentage contribution by the federating unit -the more you contribute, the more allocation you get. Simply put, the Zones pay tax to the centre.

In any case, a federation based on strong zones (regions) and weak central is best hope for Nigeria. It's in best interest of every group to consider this as a way of salvaging whatever is left of Nigeria.

He also opposed the inclusion of geo-political zones in the constitution, explaining that recognition of a body in a constitution “presupposes that it will have a definite purpose or responsibility and its composition, leadership and administrative structure will have to be defined.

“Since the geo-political zones are not intended to be regional governments, their inclusion in the constitution may cause needless confusion as to their status or significance. Section 14(3)is comprehensive enough to reflect the federal character of the country and the need to promote national unity,”

If the 6 Geo - political zones are recognized and eventually become Regional Governments it will help Decongest Lagos because these 6 Regional Governments will integrate the Economy of the states within them and this would open up the Local Economy leading to people Migration back to their states as their would be 6 autonomous Economies , The north East /North West will invest heavily in Live Stock Farming while the Middle Beltern Regions will invest in Food Production SE/SS will re engineer their Gas / Oil industries while the Yoruba Nation can take up Chicken farming and taxi Driving.

This differs from what Yorubas have been campaigning for as seen below
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=106420:nigerians-call-for-urgent-restructuring-regional-govts&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

Meanwhile, in what they claim to be presenting for posterity and for the attention of “our long suffering people, and for the attention of local and international community”, a coalition representing 11 major self-determination groups in the Southwest, the Oodua Nationalist Coalition, declare what amounts to the demand of the people of the zone, from the coalition perspectives. They demanded that the present 36-state structure be abolished and the structures and institutions of government devolved into six-region federation, each empowered to create states or counties.

This Kind of Double Speak is not good for the Polity of the Nation this is Hypocrazy

I agree with fashola on the issue of not giving constitutional recognition to the regions. However, disagree on local government autonomy and revenue allocation formula as he has proposed. Given the strong hold on local governments by the State governors, if local governments are not autonomous and the federal revenue shared according to his formula, it will amount to giving 65% of the revenue to State governments. Apart from few states, they have not been able to justify the huge amounts collected as allocations from the federation accounts.

I agree with fashola on the issue of not giving constitutional recognition to the regions. However, regions should be given autonomy if only states are abolished as this will help decongest some states as the regions will not fall back to what they were hitherto known for, for sustenance. I also want to emphasize that those who are saying that states should be abolished should know the number of people employed by the states and local government and then think of the implications of abolishing them. What should be seriously checkmated is the attractions to political offices so as to reduce profligacy, wastage and undue advantage to mediocre. We seek only those with the passion to lead.


I disagree with him on local government autonomy and revenue allocation formula. Given the strong hold on local governments by the State governors, if local governments are not autonomous and the federal revenue shared according to his formula, it will amount to giving 65% of the revenue to State governments. Apart from few states, they have not been able to justify the huge amounts collected as allocations from the federation accounts.

kettykings:

If the 6 Geo - political zones are recognized and eventually become Regional Governments it will help Decongest Lagos because these 6 Regional Governments will integrate the Economy of the states within them and this would open up the Local Economy leading to people Migration back to their states as their would be 6 autonomous Economies , The north East /North West will invest heavily in Live Stock Farming while the Middle Beltern Regions will invest in Food Production SE/SS will re engineer their Gas / Oil industries while the Yoruba Nation can take up Chicken farming and taxi Driving.

This differs from what Yorubas have been campaigning for as seen below
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=106420:nigerians-call-for-urgent-restructuring-regional-govts&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

This Kind of Double Speak is not good for the Polity of the Nation this is Hypocrazy

Did you read the article properly or am I the one not seeing clearly? Fashola only disagreed on the proposed 'cosmetic' geopolitical zones. Of course, of what use is a geopolitical zone without the elements of self-governance vis-a-vis regional governance? I think what Fashola is saying is that there must be no "half-baked" work on the constitution. It's either you create regional governments with full powers or forget the issue of 'powerless' geopolitical zones. Kindly read the quotes attributed to Fashola's spokesman again, especially the first few words (bolded for you). The statement is partly conditional from my point of view.


“Since the geo-political zones are not intended to be regional governments, their inclusion in the constitution may cause needless confusion as to their status or significance. Section 14(3)is comprehensive enough to reflect the federal character of the country and the need to promote national unity,”


Therefore, Fashola's position is still in consonance with the aspirations of Odua groups or whatever group they are...

I agree with Fash on the issue of geo-politicl zones,since they are nt generating anyting to the center as far as money is concern, they should be trashd out!
I likewise concur with his propotion on shearing the Nations wealth by the 3 tiers of government.
* I tell ya, this guy got alot of sense*

on LGA autonomy "i must clearly state that fashola is a greedy man and in truth he dont want government to be closer to people in a democratic way".

on geopolitical zones inclusion in the constitution "i hope fasholas stand is not SW stand bcuz it will be a clear proof that yorubas cannot be trusted".

SW started regional integration and now its about to be giving a constitutional aproval they turn around. wat a group of unstable people eeh.
i reserve my comments.

9ja voice: on LGA autonomy "i must clearly state that fashola is a greedy man and in truth he dont want government to be closer to people in a democratic way".

on geopolitical zones inclusion in the constitution "i hope fasholas stand is not SW stand bcuz it will be a clear proof that yorubas cannot be trusted".

SW started regional integration and now its about to be giving a constitutional aproval they turn around. wat a group of unstable people eeh.
i reserve my comments.

Will the geopolitical zones be given the autonomy and powers of a regional government? Answer this question and you will understand Fashola's point of view. Regional integration can only work properly if the regions are given autonomy. I don't think the constitution being amended is ready to give any region economic independence, this is Fashola's fear. I hope you get the logic?

9ja voice: on LGA autonomy "i must clearly state that fashola is a greedy man and in truth he dont want government to be closer to people in a democratic way".

on geopolitical zones inclusion in the constitution "i hope fasholas stand is not SW stand bcuz it will be a clear proof that yorubas cannot be trusted".

SW started regional integration and now its about to be giving a constitutional aproval they turn around. wat a group of unstable people eeh.
i reserve my comments.

It seems you did not read the text very well.

PointB: Lol. It appears Lagos State is not ready to share it wealth with other states in it's zone otherwise, I see no reason to argue against geopolitical zones, when a better argument/proposal would have been to collapse the state boundaries and extend a geopolitical zone include homogenous ethnic groups adjacent the zones.

The allocation system should be based on percentage contribution by the federating unit -the more you contribute, the more allocation you get. Simply put, the Zones pay tax to the centre.

In any case, a federation based on strong zones (regions) and weak central is best hope for Nigeria. It's in best interest of every group to consider this as a way of salvaging whatever is left of Nigeria.

You hit the nail on the head!
In any case, Lagos is probably mindful of its unique status in Nigeria's history. It was a separate territory from "Western region" even before Nigeria was formed.
Maybe current geopolitical zones need to be adjusted a little to recognize historical facts first.

Way to go ibo! at least you know that Yoruba can stand on their two feet unlike you who have to climb on the back of SS to be relevant or be seen.

The only thing the SE going to live on is kidnapping because you do not have a drop of oil in your backyard.

kettykings:

If the 6 Geo - political zones are recognized and eventually become Regional Governments it will help Decongest Lagos because these 6 Regional Governments will integrate the Economy of the states within them and this would open up the Local Economy leading to people Migration back to their states as their would be 6 autonomous Economies , The north East /North West will invest heavily in Live Stock Farming while the Middle Beltern Regions will invest in Food Production SE/SS will re engineer their Gas / Oil industries while the Yoruba Nation can take up Chicken farming and taxi Driving.

This differs from what Yorubas have been campaigning for as seen below
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=106420:nigerians-call-for-urgent-restructuring-regional-govts&catid=1:national&Itemid=559



This Kind of Double Speak is not good for the Polity of the Nation this is Hypocrazy

The argument that local councils should not be given autonomy is lame and selfish. Worst still is the fact that this argument is coming from those who call themselves "progressives".

The state governors want more power and funds for themselves but none of that for the local councils. The state governors still wants to continue to run both the state and local council by deciding who gets what, what project should be done by the local councils, and most importantly, shamelessly rigg local council polls, like was done in Lagos in 2011.

This is unacceptable. The local council chairmen are not lesser humans. They should be able to do their things just like the state governors.

Financial and administrative autonomy for local councils is non-negotiable if we want grass root participation in this democracy. Financial and administrative autonomy cannot preclude cooperation between states and their local councils, after all states and FG currently cooperate in many areas.

Sincere 9gerian: The argument that local councils should not be given autonomy is lame and selfish. Worst still is the fact that this argument is coming from those who call themselves "progressives".

The state governors want more power and funds for themselves but none of that for the local councils. The state governors still wants to continue to run both the state and local council by deciding who gets what, what project should be done by the local councils, and most importantly, shamelessly rigg local council polls, like was done in Lagos in 2011.

This is unacceptable. The local council chairmen are not lesser humans. They should be able to do their things just like the state governors.

Financial and administrative autonomy for local councils is non-negotiable if we want grass root participation in this democracy. Financial and administrative autonomy cannot preclude cooperation between states and their local councils, after all states and FG currently cooperate in many areas.

There is nothing like autonomy for local governments. There is a clear difference between tiers of government and recognized federating units. Let each state/region be a true federating unit and based on their individual separate constitutions design the LG system suitable for them. State A may prefer a parliamentary LG while B a presidential. State C may even make traditional ruler automatic head of its councils. Let each state determines the structure that best suits its idiosyncrasies.

“Since the geo-political zones are not intended to be regional governments, their inclusion in the constitution may cause needless confusion as to their status or significance. Section 14(3)is comprehensive enough to reflect the federal character of the country and the need to promote national unity,” he said.

I have to agree to this as well, since regional governments do not have autonomy and should have jurisdiction for which the FG currently controls, then I say, it makes no sense. What's the use of regional govt if it can't control its own police, tax structure, resource control, infrastructures etc? Until the center is weakened, adjusting anything further is causing more chaos and confusion.

manny4life:

I have to agree to this as well, since regional governments do not have autonomy and should have jurisdiction for which the FG currently controls, then I say, it makes no sense. What's the use of regional govt if it can't control its own police, tax structure, resource control, infrastructures etc? Until the center is weakened, adjusting anything further is causing more chaos and confusion.

Simple as abc!!!

He also opposed the inclusion of geo-political zones in the constitution, explaining that recognition of a body in a constitution “presupposes that it will have a definite purpose or responsibility and its composition, leadership and administrative structure will have to be defined.

“Since the geo-political zones are not intended to be regional governments, their inclusion in the constitution may cause needless confusion as to their status or significance. Section 14(3)is comprehensive enough to reflect the federal character of the country and the need to promote national unity,” he said.


This is gold, Fashiola is one of the few people in Nigeria who seem to say well thought out things. It would be in the best interest of all of us if we began to forget that we are Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba and any law that seeks to make permanent our divisions is bad for the Nation.

Prof Corruption:

There is nothing like autonomy for local governments. There is a clear difference between tiers of government and recognized federating units. Let each state/region be a true federating unit and based on their individual separate constitutions design the LG system suitable for them. State A may prefer a parliamentary LG while B a presidential. State C may even make traditional ruler automatic head of its councils. Let each state determines the structure that best suits its idiosyncrasies.

how do we define nigeria politically?
if states practices 4-5 political systems, na ojuelegba democracy.
(confusion)

Prof Corruption:

There is nothing like autonomy for local governments. There is a clear difference between tiers of government and recognized federating units. Let each state/region be a true federating unit and based on their individual separate constitutions design the LG system suitable for them. State A may prefer a parliamentary LG while B a presidential. State C may even make traditional ruler automatic head of its councils. Let each state determines the structure that best suits its idiosyncrasies.

That's absurd, get your head out of your ars.

9ja voice: on LGA autonomy "i must clearly state that fashola is a greedy man and in truth he dont want government to be closer to people in a democratic way".

on geopolitical zones inclusion in the constitution "i hope fasholas stand is not SW stand bcuz it will be a clear proof that yorubas cannot be trusted".

SW started regional integration and now its about to be giving a constitutional aproval they turn around. wat a group of unstable people eeh.
i reserve my comments.

Is it that you are blinded by bigotry or you didn't go to school? Fashola's position is that cosmetic recognition of regions is BS if they wont have a govt. role. Tell that to your clueless president.

Onlytruth:

You hit the nail on the head!
In any case, Lagos is probably mindful of its unique status in Nigeria's history. It was a separate territory from "Western region" even before Nigeria was formed.
Maybe current geopolitical zones need to be adjusted a little to recognize historical facts first.

Lagos was separate from western region even before Nigeria was formed? wow. I just shake my head when you guys type because I know you people know the truth but still go out of your way to lie. This is just pathetic. Onlytruth, you should be ashamed of yourself.

lagcity:

Lagos was separate from western region even before independence? wow. I just shake my head when you guys type because I know you people know the truth but still go out of your way to lie. This is just pathetic. Onlytruth, you should be ashamed of yourself.

Omo calm down first and dust up your Nigerian map Pre-1900. The picture will speak volumes to you.

@Lagcity,

Was Lagos always part of Western Nigeria?

Onlytruth: @Lagcity,

Was Lagos always part of Western Nigeria?

Yes. But since you've decided to play dumb, I'll oblige you. Lagos has always been part of "Western Nigeria".

Governor Fash, don't worry by 2015 you and Buhari would be there to take all the Decisions.. Buhari Fashola for presidencyyyyyyy!!!!

lagcity:

Yes. But since you've decided to play dumb, I'll oblige you. Lagos has always been part of "Western Nigeria".

I'll post my evidence again.

Onlytruth:

I'll post my evidence again.

What I can see in this map is the entity called Lagos colony and protectorate, which later became the Western Region. Did you look at the map properly before posting it at all? By the way, Lagos in pre-1900 likely refers to the enclaves of Lagos-Island, and by extension Victoria Island and other adjacent coastal territories. I very much doubt that Lagos Mainland was part of the Lagos colony back then, I may be wrong though...