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NIGERIA: Federal, States, LGs pocket N1.9tn in Q1, highest in 3yrs
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) said the amount disbursed by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in the first quarter of 2018 rose to the highest since 2015, indicating a rebound of government revenue after the great oil bust of 2014.
The Quarterly Review of NEITI on FAAC for the first quarter of 2018 made available to journalists on Thursday revealed that a sum of N1.938 trillion was disbursed by FAAC to the Federal, 36 States and 774 Local Governments of the Federation in the quarter.
The amount, which represents 37.3% increase from N1.411 trillion shared in 2017 and 71.1% rise from N1.132 shared in 2016 all in the same period, was the largest amount disbursed in first quarters in President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.
However, according to the review, the total disbursements of FAAC to the three tiers of government for the first quarter of 2018 were 25.6% lower than N2.6 trillion shared in the same period in 2013 before the oil prices crash.
The global crude oil prices, which accounted for over 90% of government revenue, had in 2014 dropped by about 70% from $115 per barrel for Brent benchmark to about $35 per barrel, has greatly affected Nigeria’s revenue base.
Read also: Senate to Pass 2018 Budget May 16
The report projected a brighter prospect for increased revenue disbursements for the remaining months of the year because of the rising oil prices and the increasing oil production.
The NEITI reports also revealed that Akwa Ibom State got the highest amount of N50.44 billion while Osun state received the lowest net share of N4.99, suggesting that the disparities in states’ revenue capacities pose great implications on expenditure decisions in the affected states.
By Oluwasegun Olakoyenikan
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