Anambra asks RMAFC for ₦70 billion from stabilisation fund

Anambra State has asked for ₦70 billion from the stabilisation fund to pay for priority projects across security, roads, health, education, agriculture and tourism, the state government told a federal committee in Abuja.

The request was made at a technical session of the Indices and Disbursement Committee of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), the body that shares national revenue among the tiers of government.

The committee's chairman, Olusegun Adekunle Wright, who is also the commissioner representing Lagos State, said the stabilisation fund is a fiscal intervention meant to help states in deserving cases. He said any support depends on existing guidelines, available resources and approvals.

He stressed that the session was only a review, not an approval. The committee will check the state's financial records, the cost and viability of each project, and the expected benefit to residents before making any recommendation.

What Anambra told the committee

Anambra's Secretary to the State Government, Chiamaka Nneke, presented the state's finances and needs. She said Anambra has 21 local government areas, 179 communities and about 8.9 million people, with a gross domestic product of roughly $12.7 billion and a proposed 2026 budget of ₦766 billion.

She said internally generated revenue has risen from about ₦2.2 billion to about ₦7.2 billion, driven by commercial and industrial centres such as Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi, and by oil-producing areas.

But she listed insecurity, erosion, flooding, inflation and the rising cost of public services as major pressures. Sit-at-home orders and restricted movement, she said, have disrupted business, cut government revenue and weakened investor confidence.

On security, Nneke pointed to the state's Homeland Security Law, its security outfit and a joint task force, and asked for support with vehicles, surveillance and communication equipment, and training.

She said Anambra has more than 1,000 erosion sites affecting 146 communities, and that about ₦170 billion would be needed to tackle the critical ones. The state is doing flood management, road repairs, land reclamation, waterway clearance and tree planting, and has restricted sand mining near vulnerable areas.

On health, she said free antenatal care and delivery has covered more than 206,000 births, including 642 Caesarean sections, at no cost. The state has also hired 8,415 teachers and made education free from nursery to Senior Secondary School Three.

She said agriculture is a big opportunity, with more than 2.3 million coconut and oil-palm seedlings distributed, and called for investment in processing, storage, irrigation and market access. She also named solid minerals such as kaolin, bentonite, lignite, silica sand, gypsum and laterite, and tourism sites including Agulu Lake.

The commissioner representing Anambra on the commission, Enefe Ekene, thanked the committee and said the observations would help the state sharpen its case before the planned visit to Anambra.

What happens next

The committee will visit the state to inspect the projects it is being asked to fund. Any recommendation will still go to the commission's plenary, and the state must provide financial documents and proof that the projects are feasible.