Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — In a renewed push to plug financial leakages and boost national income from the solid minerals sector, the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, has introduced a new data rendition template aimed at ensuring transparent and accurate remittance of mining revenues into the Federation Account.
Speaking at a sensitization workshop in Enugu for the South East Zone, Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Mohammed Bello Shehu, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to closing the long-standing gap in remittances from the mining sector.
Shehu noted that despite extensive mining activities across the country, the sector’s contribution to the Federation Account remains negligible.
“It has been established that despite the extent of activities going on in the country’s mining sector, it contributes only a negligible amount to the Federation Account, largely due to the lack of proper and effective monitoring of mining activities,” Dr. Shehu said.
“Hence, it is the intention of the RMAFC to work assiduously to ensure that all revenues due to the Federation Account from the mining sector are promptly remitted into the Federation’s distribution pool account as at when due.”
Represented by the Federal Commissioner for the Federal Capital Territory, Ambassador Ayuba Jacob Ngbako, Dr. Shehu explained that the newly introduced template was designed to capture critical data on mineral quantities, producing companies, license types, and fees paid.
He emphasized that proper management of this data would help the government track and account for every mining activity nationwide.
According to him, “If the data is properly managed and utilized, it will go a long way in ensuring that mining operations and revenues therefrom are effectively tracked and accounted for.”
He further stressed that the introduction of the new template aligns with the federal government’s agenda under President Bola Tinubu to diversify revenue sources beyond crude oil, which has long been affected by price volatility, vandalism, and theft.
“The perpetual overdependence on hydrocarbon sources of revenue underscores the determination of this administration to harness revenue potentials from other sectors such as solid minerals, agriculture, manufacturing, and the blue economy,” Shehu added.
Representing Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, the State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Hon. Franklin Ogbonna, lauded the RMAFC initiative as “a significant step toward building a reliable framework for revenue monitoring and resource allocation.”
“Accurate data is the foundation of sound policy formulation and effective revenue management,” he said.
“It enables both the federal and state governments to assess real production figures, close leakages, and ensure that due revenues are remitted for the benefit of all Nigerians.”
Hon. Ogbonna noted that the Enugu State Government’s efforts to reposition the solid minerals sector align with RMAFC’s vision of data-driven governance and fiscal accountability.
In his welcome remarks, the Federal Commissioner representing Enugu State in the Commission, Hon. Ozo Obodougo Obumneme, said the data system would serve as an independent and verifiable information source for RMAFC.
“The exercise is aimed at ensuring the existence of a platform for independent data sources, free from summation errors, which can be used for comparative and attribution purposes,” Obumneme stated.
Other dignitaries, including the Commissioner for Solid Minerals in Ebonyi State, Hon. Onyia Emmanuel; Commissioner for Petroleum and Mineral Resources in Abia State, Prof. Joel Ogbonna; Anambra State Commissioner for Local Government, Hon. Tony Nwabuno; and Imo State’s Permanent Secretary for Industry, Mines and Minerals, Mrs. Obialor Angela, all commended the initiative, describing it as timely and essential for strengthening fiscal transparency.
The sensitization workshop, which began in Abuja for the North Central Zone, and later held in Asaba, Delta State, for the South-South region, continues as part of a nationwide exercise to be conducted across all six geopolitical zones.
