ABSTRACT
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa. It has more than 300 ethnic groups speaking different languages. The diversity in language and culture has a very strong bearing on the Nigerian political scene. Revenue sharing in Nigeria has similar objectives to achieve as those clearly stated in Nigeria's Second National Development Plan. Since Nigeria became a political entity, eight committees charged with the functions of designing a suitable revenue sharing formula for Nigeria have so far been set up. Revenue sharing in the colonial era did take a factor into consideration: the autonomy of the regions. The autonomy of the regions has, since the creation of states, been equated to the autonomy of states. Under the 1963 Constitution the regions retained more revenue and were relatively wealthier than the Federal Government. In January, 1966 the military government came to power as the nation grew tired with the incompetent and corrupt federal and regional governments.
