The head of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Dr Muhammad Bello, commended a recent directive by President Bola Tinubu to scale down the convoy sizes of ministers and chief executives. This move is seen as a strategic effort to tackle Nigeria’s high governance expenses.
Bello encouraged state governments to follow suit, stressing the importance of efficiency and resource management across all government levels. Excessive government spending, he mentioned in a weekend statement, has hindered infrastructure development and social services in the country, leading to issues like high unemployment, reduced investments, and heightened insecurity.
“For a society to progress, it must establish a competent and cost-effective system that optimizes resources for the welfare of all citizens,” he remarked.
Reflecting on RMAFC’s consistent advocacy for reducing governance costs, Bello highlighted the commission’s efforts in providing recommendations to the government to cut unnecessary expenses and channel funds towards impactful development projects.
He noted that Nigeria’s governance costs are excessively high due to bureaucratic overlaps, corruption, infrastructure decay, security threats, conflicting salary claims, and high levels of debt, both domestic and foreign.
These challenges, according to him, hinder Nigeria’s capacity to invest in key sectors like healthcare and education, as well as impede industrial growth and infrastructure advancement.
Expressing worry over the financial strain on all branches of government, Bello pointed out that Nigeria’s governance expenditures are among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa, limiting the government’s resources and its ability to deliver essential services.
To tackle these issues, RMAFC reiterated the importance of implementing the Oronsaye report, reducing political appointees, and enforcing stricter control over government spending.