The Forum of Heads of Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies in Gombe State has held a symposium to strengthen collaboration among the three tiers of government and promote coordinated approaches to sustainable national development.
The 2026 symposium, themed “Aligning Federal, State and Local Government Priorities for Sustainable National Development,” brought together federal government officials and stakeholders from state and local governments to discuss ways of improving policy coordination, public revenue generation and service delivery.
Speaking at the event on Thursday in Gombe, the chairman of the forum, Sadiq Ahmed, said the engagement was designed to deepen understanding of the responsibilities of federal institutions and their contributions to the socioeconomic development of the state.
Ahmed said the symposium provided an opportunity for federal ministries, departments and agencies to examine how their programmes could complement the priorities of the state and local governments.
He noted that although the forum comprised federal government workers serving in Gombe State, its activities extended beyond federal institutions to promote cooperation with subnational authorities.
“You know we are federal workers in Gombe State. Apart from being federal workers, we are proud contributors to the socioeconomic development of Gombe State,” he said.
Ahmed explained that the presentations addressed the contributions of public institutions to national development and the implementation of the new tax laws, including concerns about overlapping taxes and duplication.
He expressed optimism that the discussions would benefit federal agencies, the Gombe State Government and the country at large.
“I believe that the lecture will be beneficial to the entire MDAs, Gombe State and Nigeria at large,” he said.
The Regional Administrator of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Danjuma Manga, who spoke on the new tax reforms, said the changes were designed to harmonise tax administration, improve compliance and promote fairness while strengthening the revenue base of the three tiers of government.
Manga, who also serves as the state monitor for Adamawa, Gombe and Taraba states, said individuals earning N800,000 or less annually were exempt from personal income tax under the framework he discussed.
He explained that the reforms were anchored on four legislations intended to improve tax policy, legislation and administration.
Manga also highlighted changes to the distribution of federally collected revenue, saying the revised arrangement was intended to increase the resources available to state governments and support development at the subnational level.
He urged government agencies responsible for deducting taxes at source to ensure that such deductions, particularly from contractors’ payments, were promptly remitted to the appropriate authorities.
In his keynote address, the Chief Medical Director of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Professor Yusuf Abdullahi, called for stronger coordination among federal, state and local governments to ensure that development programmes reached vulnerable populations.
Abdullahi cited interventions in cancer care, particularly for breast, cervical and prostate cancers, as examples of programmes that required effective coordination in planning, funding and implementation.
He said the government had introduced pilot interventions to provide free treatment for selected cancer patients, adding that similar collaboration was necessary in healthcare, agriculture, education and other critical sectors.
“The way forward is that we really have to align these priorities. They have to be coordinated in terms of delivery, and the outcomes must be measured,” he said.
“Sustainable national development depends on synchronised planning, transparent funding, shared evidence and accountable implementation across all three levels of government.”
He urged public institutions to move away from fragmented projects and embrace coordinated programmes that could deliver measurable improvements in people’s lives.
The symposium formed part of the forum’s efforts to strengthen intergovernmental cooperation, improve the effectiveness of public institutions and ensure that federal programmes aligned with the development priorities of Gombe State and its local governments.