EFFECT OF VITAMINS C AND E INTAKE ON BLOOD ... - EuroJournals

European Journal of Social Sciences - Volume 2, Number 1 (2006)
• ensure full compliance with established revenue sharing arrangements as well as full public
accountability for all funds so allocated to various governments and/or agencies involved in the
disposition of the Federation Account;
• liaise with the National Planning Commission and similar statutory bodies in the orderly fiscal
development of each other tier of government;
• collaborate with all layers of government as well as their ministries, departments, agencies, and
extra-ministerial units in the prompt, regular, and faithful production of public financial
statistics;
• determination of the remuneration which it may deem appropriate for political office holders
such as members of the executive and legislative branches of government outside the
Consolidated Account;
• commissioning, undertaking or sponsoring studies, analyses and deliberations on subjects
which may bear directly or impinge significantly on the policy and operation domains of
federal fiscal system and inter-governmental financial relations;
• making whatsoever general or specific recommendations as the Commission may consider
necessary for more effective mobilisation, collection, allocation and distribution of federal,
state and local government revenues, as well as providing guidelines for their efficient
implementation; and
• submitting regular and timely annual reports to the federal government on its general activities
over and beyond its specific recommendations or ad hoc submissions on particular subjects,
with such annual reports also incorporating the Commission's audited accounts.
The Commission came up with its first major recommendations on a new allocation formula
which was approved by the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) and became operational with effect
from January 1990. See Table One. Appraising the commission, it has not performed creditably in
mobilising resources which was its primary assignment. Its major pre-occupation was revenue sharing
which led its reneging on its other functions.
The last major fiscal review was in 1992, when the Federal Government increased the share of
the Local Government from Federation Account from 15% to 20%, and reduced that the States from
30% to 25%. The arrangement was occasioned by the transferring of the management and funding of
primary education to local government with effect from January 1991. In June 1992, a new revenue
allocation formula was announced that further reduced the states' share from 25% to 24% but doubled
the general ecology fund and the development of mineral producing areas fund from 1% to 2% and
1.5% to 3% respectively. Table Four shows actual federal fiscal transfers to state and local
governments in Nigeria between 1976 and 2001. The fiscal transfers to state governments during the
period under review have not been consistent. It ranges from 7.8% (the lowest) in 1996 and 30.5% (the
highest) in 1982. On the other hand, federal actual transfers to local governments have increased
progressively from 1.7% 1976 to 16% in 1990 and 20% in 1998. The regime of General Babangida
administration committed huge financial resources to local government in the country. From 1991,
actual federal transfers to local governments began to witness a downward trend - from 16% in 1990 to
3.5% in 1997.
The experience of fiscal policies in Nigeria portends not only a dangerous trend, but seems
threatening and disappointing, since the emphasis has always been on revenue sharing, rather than
resource mobilization. The most threatening aspect of Nigerian fiscal federalism is its dependence
syndrome on oil rents. State and local governments across the country depend largely on federal
financial transfers. Their internal revenues have continued to dwindle unabated. Statistics shows that
federal transfers to local governments constitute over 90% of their total revenues. Taxation has
virtually been neglected in the country. Value-Added Tax (VAT) remains the only active tax apart
from Pay as you earn (PAYE) deducted from workers. VAT was introduced in 1994. Its contribution to
federal revenue was 3.6% in 1994, with progressive increase to 4.6% in 1995; 5.9% in 1996 and 7.9%
in 1999, but decreased to 3.0% in Year 2000 and slightly moved to 4.1% in Year 2001. A viable tax
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