The Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Muhammed Bello Shehu, has reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to exploring new areas of revenue generation for the Federation Account to support the development efforts of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
A statement from Maryam Umar Yusuf, Head of the Information and Public Relations Unit, noted that the Chairman made this commitment during a visit from a delegation of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA). The delegation was led by Dr. Abayomi Taofik Alaga, Director of Mission Planning and Satellite Data Management, and was at the Commission to provide insights on exploring new revenue streams for the Federation.
Represented by Engineer Muhammed Sanni Baba, Honourable Member for Bauchi State in the Commission, the Chairman disclosed that NASRDA was invited to present on optimizing possible areas of income generation for the Federation Account. This aligns with the Commission’s core mandate
to identify, mobilize, monitor, and recommend alternative revenue sources for the Federation Account.
He stated, ‘We welcome the NASRDA delegation as they help us understand the details of their organization’s operations and provide guidance on how we can better achieve our mandate as the Agency responsible for generating revenues for the three tiers of government in Nigeria.’
The Chairman also announced the Commission’s decision to extend its collaboration with NASRDA to NIGCOMSAT, aiming to leverage optimized satellite operations to enhance the monitoring and evaluation of accruals into the Federation Account.
A member of the delegation, Dr. Leke Oyewale, Managing Director of Milky-Way Visuals, gave an extensive presentation on potential revenue streams from space technology through geospatial support. The NASRDA team discussed various initiatives such as satellite development, space-based services, and the commercialization of space research that could contribute to the Federation Account.
Dr. Oyewale
highlighted additional revenue lines including bunker levies on midstream operations, ocean meteorological services, satellite monitoring of pollution and oil spill recovery, cargo clearance platforms at ports, automation of revenue lines, and value addition for telecommunication companies.
He noted that these revenue lines, spanning maritime, aviation, imagery, radio frequency analytics, and weather forecasting sectors, could generate over $45 billion annually in the first two years, with potential growth to $50 billion per annum if adequately harnessed.
Other sectors of national interest include solid minerals and agriculture, with potential annual revenue of about 4.5 billion naira from mining operations in Nigeria and N500 billion from digital agriculture.
Amb. Ayuba Ngbako, Honourable Member representing the FCT in the Commission, gave the vote of thanks, appreciating the participants and commending NASRDA and Milky-Way Visuals Limited for their insights on new revenue lines through space technology.
He reiterated the Commission’s commitment to incorporating satellite technology and encouraged Board Members and staff to apply the knowledge gained to enhance the Nigerian economy.
Source: Voice of Nigeria