The People’s Democratic Party Governors’ Forum has requested that the Federal Government should enhance transparency in allocating revenues among the federal, state, and local governments in the country.
This was part of the resolution reached at the end of the forum’s monthly meeting held in Jalingo, the capital of Taraba State on Friday.
According to a communique read by Chairman of the forum and Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, the governors were concerned about the Federal Government’s failure to distinguish between federal revenue and revenue that comes from the federal government.
The forum asked the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Accountant General of the Federation to strictly follow the principles of revenue sharing among the three tiers of government as laid out in Section 162 of the Constitution.
The governors alleged that the Accountant General of the Federation had acted in a way that showed bias towards by the Federal Government.
The forum advocated for the separation of the offices of the Accountant General of the Federation and the Accountant General of the Federal Government to enhance accountability.
According to them, this would ensure that the federation’s revenue is managed independently and adheres to constitutional provisions.
“The forum notes with concern, the refusal of the Federal Government to distinguish between the Federal Government of Nigeria’s revenue and revenue accruing to the federation which must be allocated in accordance with extant laws.
“We call on the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Accountant General of the Federation to be more transparent in obeying the law, particularly Section 162 (1) (2) (3). And equally, call on the Accountant General of the Federation to stop behaving like the Accountant General of the Federal Government and to exercise her role in line with the constitution.
“We call for the separation of the office of the Accountant General of the Federation and that of the Accountant General of the Federal Government of Nigeria,” the PDP governors said.
Additionally, they expressed relief at the completion of the #EndBadGovernance protests and applauded PDP governors for their mature handling of the situation, which prevents hoodlums from overrunning the protests.
The forum reiterated the value of peaceful protests as a fundamental right of citizens, and offered condolences to the families of those who lost their lives during the demonstrations. It also urged the Federal Government to ensure that those arrested during the protests are tried fairly and swiftly.
The forum criticized the Federal Government’s response to the protests and accused it of using blackmail instead of dealing with the underlying economic and social problems.
President Bola Tinubu was advised to steer his officials away from playing blame games that unfairly target state governments.
The forum reiterated its support for Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubura, as court judgments have influenced the outcome of PDP conventions in the state, and urged the PDP National Working Committee to reconsider the conventions to restore the governor's rightful leadership position in the party.
The forum called on President Tinubu to remain neutral and avoid making statements that could be perceived as attempts to compromise the election for his party while talking about the upcoming governorship election in Edo State.
They expressed their disapproval of what they labeled as a systematic intimidation of PDP supporters by the police in Edo State prior to the September 21 governorship election.
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