The Benue State House of Assembly has directed the Executive Chairmen of all 23 Local Government Councils, LGs in the state to terminate or decline the renewal of all contracts with third-party revenue consultants.
The resolution was passed during Tuesday’s plenary at the Assembly Complex in Makurdi, presided over by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Alfred Emberga. The motion was moved by the Majority Leader, Hon. Thomas Dugeri, who urged councils to disengage revenue consultants and allow their Revenue Departments to perform their statutory duties.
In its resolution, the House mandated all Local Government Chairmen to ensure that their respective Revenue Departments fully assume responsibility for revenue collection immediately upon the expiration of existing consultancy contracts.
The Assembly also directed the Local Government Service Commission to organize capacity-building and digital training workshops for staff of the Revenue Departments to modernize and enhance transparency in local revenue collection.
Moving the motion, Hon. Dugeri cited Section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, which guarantees a system of democratically elected Local Government Councils and assigns them specific statutory functions, including the collection of rates, radio and television licenses, and other local taxes and fees.
He noted that every Local Government Council has a fully established and funded Revenue Department made up of trained civil servants paid from public funds to collect revenue on behalf of the councils.
Hon. Dugeri expressed concern that over the years, many councils in Benue have relied heavily on external consultants and private contractors to assess, collect, and manage Internally Generated Revenue, IGR. He said this practice has resulted in massive Revenue leakages which has enabled consultants to retain large percentages of collections as “commissions” or “service fees,” leaving little for grassroots development as well as rendering the workforce redundant as trained local government staff are left underutilized and demoralized despite drawing monthly salaries.
He further argued that continued reliance on external consultants contradicts the recent judicial and executive push for Local Government autonomy, which demands greater transparency, accountability, and fiscal responsibility at the third tier of government.
Seconding the motion, Hon. Anthony Agom, representing Okpokwu State Constituency, described it as timely. He said councils have competent revenue staff capable of handling collections and called for the immediate termination of all revenue consultancy services at the LGA level.
Also supporting the motion, Hon. Douglas Akya, representing Makurdi South, advised that existing contracts should be allowed to expire before termination to avoid legal disputes.
Speaker Rt. Hon. Alfred Emberga thereafter directed the Clerk of the House, Dr. Bem Mela, to communicate the House resolution to all relevant authorities for immediate implementation.
