Agbakoba Calls for Section 162 Reform to Stop ₦20 Trillion Annual Revenue Leakages

Olisa Agbakoba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has called for reforms in the implementation of Section 162 of the Constitution to address revenue leakages. Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos on Wednesday, he described a structural failure in the collection, remittance and accounting of public revenue. Agbakoba said Nigeria loses about ₦20 trillion annually due to the failure of revenue to reach the Federation Account as required by the Constitution. He proposed a constitutional amendment to enforce full compliance with Section 162, which mandates that all federal revenues be paid into the Federation Account before disbursement.

Agbakoba argued that redirecting revenue through the constitutional channel would reduce the country's reliance on borrowing. He noted that debt servicing currently consumes nearly seventy per cent of federal revenue, funds that could otherwise be used for infrastructure and public services. "It is money that goes to service debt that should never have been necessary in the first place, because the revenues to fund government were always there. They were simply not arriving where the Constitution says they should," he said.

He urged that the federation account crisis be made a key issue in the 2027 general elections. Agbakoba insisted that every presidential candidate must be asked how they plan to resolve the problem. "Every voter is a direct stakeholder in whether the revenues collected in their name reach the governments accountable to them," he said.

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