Allocation highest ever
N500b kept in savings
Yusuf: let gains of reform reflect on citizens
It was a huge “payday” for the tiers of government yesterday.
The federal, state and local governments shared a handsome N1.127 trillion from the N1.674 trillion collectable revenue in December 2023.

Over N500 billion was saved to take care of future needs.

It is the second consecutive month that the revenue shared from the central purse crossed the N1 trillion mark.

The first time it did was in September 2023.

From the N655.932 billion shared in May, the month that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took office and pronounced that the “petrol subsidy is gone,” the revenue has been going up steadily (SEE TABLE).

The staggering figure, made available after the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting yesterday, is a reflection of the nation’s economic upward movement, analysts said.

According to them, it also presents an opportunity for the government at all levels to ensure growth and development.

Economists last night said with increased revenue, the people should begin to get the dividends of democracy, especially at the state and local governments.

The agreement by FAAC members to allow N500 billion in savings is indicative of financial prudence, a member said.

Breaking down the revenue accruals, according to a statement by the FAAC, Companies Income Tax (CIT), Excise Duty, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Value Added Tax (VAT), and Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) increased significantly.

But there is a slight decline in oil and gas royalties, import duty and CET levies.

Despite the remarkable revenue gains, the balance in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) remained static at $473,754.57.

The surplus in the federation account serves as a cushion for any unforeseen economic challenges that may arise.

A closer look at the activities surrounding the Federation Account has shown that N875.382 billion was received as gross statutory revenue for December 2023, which was slightly lower than the N882.560 billion received in November.

In terms of the Value Added Tax (VAT), December 2023 saw a significant increase compared to the previous month.

The gross revenue available from VAT stood at N492.506 billion, which is a N132.051 billion increase from November.

This surge in VAT revenue can be attributed to the improvement in economic activities and increased consumer spending during the festive season.

Further analysis of the revenue distribution revealed that the Federal Government got N383.872 billion from the total distributable revenue; states received N396.693 billion and the local government areas received N288.928 billion.

State collecting derivation funds from mineral revenue shared N57.915 billion, representing 13 per cent of the revenue.

Regarding distributable statutory revenue, the Federal Government received N173.729 billion, state governments, N88.118 billion and councils, N67.935 billion from the N363.188 billion generated.

From the distributable VAT revenue of N458.622 billion, the Federal Government received N68.793 billion, state governments received N229.311 billion, and local government councils received N160.518 billion.

The Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) of N17.855 billion was allocated as follows: the Federal Government received N2.678 billion, states got N8.928 billion and local government councils received N6.249 billion.

However, the stagnant Excess Crude Account raises concern about the need for strategic investment of surplus funds into critical sectors.

The slight decline in statutory revenue and continued dependence on oil and gas require further attention.