Allocations to FG, states, LGs drop by N52bn

Accountant-General of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Idris

Ifeanyi Onuba, Abuja

The allocations from the Federation Account to the three tiers of government declined by N52.07bn from the N467.8bn shared in March to N415.73bn in April this year, according to figures released by the Federation Account Allocation Committee.

The FAAC meeting for the month of April, which was held on Tuesday at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja, also saw a decrease of N57.47bn in gross statutory revenue from N331.58bn in March to N274.1bn in April.

Addressing journalists shortly after the meeting, the Accountant General of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Idris, said the Federal Government received N163.89bn; states, N117.59bn; and the 774 local government councils, N87.77bn.

In addition, the sum of N29.83bn was shared to the oil-producing states based on the 13 per cent derivation principle, while the revenue-generating agencies received N16.52bn as cost of revenue collection.

Idris attributed the decrease in revenue to crude oil production setbacks arising from sabotage and shutdown of installations.

He said, “The gross statutory revenue of N274.1bn received for the month was lower than the N331.58bn received in the previous month by N57.47bn.

“There was a significant increase in export sales revenue by about $63.69m due to the increase in the average unit price of crude oil from $52.86 to $55.38 per barrel, and a rise in crude oil export volume by 1.07 million barrels.

“Despite the improvement, production still suffered the perennial setbacks. Leakages arising from sabotage and programmed maintenance led to shut-ins and shutdowns at terminals.”

Idris put the balance in the Excess Crude Account as of May 23 at $2.29bn, down from the $2.49bn it was on April 25.