Confronting The Curse Of Oil by Reuben Abati

The monthly Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC, meeting was held the other day in Abuja, with the representatives of state governments again cap in hand, asking for their share of federal revenue - read: oil revenue, or better still, national cake, or our money.  A paragraph in the report by the online newspaper, Premium Times, caught my attention and here it is: "But at the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC, meeting, representatives of the 36 state governments went home SAD (emphasis mine), as they were handed parlous shares from a total N299.75 billion statutory allocation for the month, the lowest allocations in more than five years." For the month of March 2016, the states shared N55.34 billion, compared to N64.52 billion in February 2016. I have deliberately emphasized the wordsad, because the day may well come when after the sharing of national revenue, we may be told that some Commissioners of Finance left the meeting crying, or wailing.

Subsidy must go – Finance Commissioners, NECA

Removal ‘ll impoverish Nigerians; it’s corruption that should go— NLC

Commissioners for Finance from the 36 states of the federation rose from their monthly Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC, meeting in Abuja, yesterday, insisting that petroleum products subsidy must be removed.
While their position was consistent with that of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, it sharply contradicted the thinking of the Nigerian Senate, which held a few days ago that petroleum subsidy should remain.
The commissioners had, three months ago, decided that the current subsidy was not in the interest of the nation and wrote a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan, demanding an end to it.
The Chairman, Forum of Commissioners of Finance, Mr. Timothy Odaah, told journalists shortly after the meeting that there was no going back on their position and that they had fully briefed their principals— state governors.