Professor Itse Sagay, a constitutional lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria has called for an increase in the revenue allocation given to the states. Under the current revenue allocation formula, the Federal Government receives 52 per cent while the state and local governments receive 26.72 percent and 20.6 per cent respectively. He is proposing that Federal Government receives 20 per cent while the remaining 80 per cent should go to the states.[http://www.
Increasing funding to state governments will not automatically allow states to achieve development. The majority of the states in Nigeria are yet to show results and impacts made from the ‘little’ allocation they receive. While I agree that there has been wastage of resources at the federal level, the states are also not immune from this. There have been many cases of corruption involving governors in the past. The focus should be more on ensuring more transparency and accountability in the management of public funds both at the federal and state levels. It would be necessary to see some results achieved first at the state level and identify areas that need funding for further improvement before making a proposal to increase funding to the states.
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