§ 75. Sir R. Glynasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the rate of 42W taxation of the African peasant in the Northern Province of Nigeria compared to that of the African in the Southern, which is paid to the Central Government Fund; and what is the proportion of grant paid from the Central Fund for development and social benefits in the Northern Province.
Mr. GriffithsThe Central Government does not itself retain any part of the general or cattle tax paid by Africans, but makes over its share of that taxation to the appropriate Regional Administration. The Regional Administration in the north receives £250,000 out of a total of about £2½ million of tax collected; in the west and east Regions the figure is £63,700 out of a total of over £1 million. All the rest remains in each case with the native authorities. It would not be possible, without an elaborate analysis of the Estimates, to assess the proportion of Central Government revenue spent on development and social benefits in the Northern Region.