By Douglas Okoro
Abakaliki – Some stakeholders in Ebonyi on Wednesday appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari, to inaugurate Chief Elias Mbam, whom he reappointed as Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) .
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that President Buhari approved the reappointment of Mbam after his tenure elapsed.
Mbam was first appointed Chairman of the commission by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011, and the tenure was completed in November 2015.
The stakeholders who spoke in separate interviews with NAN, appealed to the President to forward Mbam’s name to the Senate for screening and confirmation.
Dr Haroun Ajah, Secretary, Muslim Ummah Council of Nigeria (MUCON) South-East Coordination, who spoke appealed to Buhari to forward Mbam’s name for screening.
He said that the prolonged delay was not in the best interest of the country, because of the strategic importance of the commission in management of the nation’s federation accruals.
“This is the commission charged with statutory responsibility of ensuring that all collectable revenues accruing to the federation are properly channelled into the the federation account before any disbursements are made.
“The commission also ensures that the salaries of political office holders from federal down to local governments are properly fixed.
“The commission is so powerful and sensitive in matters of fiscal responsibility that the commission should not be without a substantive chairman for this long period of time.
“Mr President, I believe reappointed Mbam for a second term in office because of his track record of performance.
“Although I don’t know the reason for the delay in forwarding his name for screening, I want to urge the President to do the needful.
“Mbam did well in his first tenure and Mr President being a man of integrity reappointed him based on his conviction that he delivered during his first outing as chairman of the RMAFC,’’ Ajah said.
In the same vein, an NGO, Advocacy For Good Governance (AFGG), has appealed to the President to forward Mbam’s name to the Senate for screening and subsequently confirmation.
The chairman of the NGO, Mr Okenwa Uka, said that the screening and confirmation would enable Mbam to commence the performance of the statutory duties of the office.
Uka said that Mbam distinguished himself as a consummate technocrat in his first tenure as chairman of RMAFC, saying that his reappointment was based on his previous good performance.
He said that not forwarding the name of Mbam could be misinterpreted as subtle withdrawal or cancellation of the appointment. (NAN)