Economy
FAAC bazaar continues as FG, states, LGs share N1.2trn for February
Statutory allocations from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) to the 36 states and 774 local government areas in February 2024, increased to N1.152.trillion, compared to the N1.14trillion and N1.12 trillion shared in January 2024 and December 2023 respectively.
The record sharing of N1.152.trillion came from a gross total of N2,326.14trillion realised in the month of February.
This was revealed in a statement signed by its Director, Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Finance, Mohammed Manga, after its February 2024 meeting chaired by the Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, on Thursday.
FAAC is responsible for reviewing and adopting the allocation of funds to states and the Federal Government.
The committee distributes revenue to all 36 states and 774 local governments in Nigeria on a monthly basis.
This funding is expected to fuel development and assist governments at different levels in fulfilling their responsibilities
From the stated amount inclusive of Gross Statutory Revenue, Value Added Tax Electronic Money Transfer Levy and Exchange Difference, the Federal Government received N352.40billion, the states received N366.95billion, the local government areas got N267.15billion, while the oil-producing states received N166.24billion as derivation, (13 per cent of mineral revenue).
The statement added that N66.45billion was given for the cost of collection, N856.93billion was allocated for transfer intervention and refunds, and N250billion was saved.
The document showed the total revenue distribution for the month.was drawn from Statutory Revenue of N101.34bn VAT of N428.80bn, N15.15bn from EMTL, and N607.44bn from Exchange Difference, bringing the total distributable amount for the month to N1,152.75trn.
The communique issued by the FAAC at the end of the meeting indicated that the Gross Revenue available from the VAT for February 2024 was N460.48bn, which was an increase from the N420.73bn distributed in the preceding month, increasing to N39.75bn.
From that amount, N18.42bn was allocated for the cost of collection and N13.26bn was given for transfers, intervention and refunds.
The remaining N428.80billion was distributed to the three tiers of government, of which the Federal Government got N64.32billion, the states received N214.40billion, and local government councils got N150.08billion.
Accordingly, the Gross Statutory Revenue of N1,192.42billion received in the month was higher than the sum of N1,151.80bn received in the previous month of January 2024 N40.62billion. From that amount, the sum of N47.40billion was allocated for the cost of collection, a total sum of N843.67billion for Transfers, Intervention and Refunds and a total of N200billion saved.
From the remaining balance of N101.34billion, FG got the sum of N7.35billion, States received N3.72billion, while the sum of N87.39bn was allocated to LGCs as Derivation (13 per cent Mineral Revenue).
Also, the sum of N15.78bn from EMTL was shared and the FG received N2.27bn, States got N7.57bn, LGCs received N5.30bn, while N0.63bn was allocated for Cost of Collection.
The statement also disclosed that from the sum of N657.44bn from Exchange Difference, the FG received N278.46bn, States got N141.24bn, while the sum of N108.89bn was allocated to Local Government Councils, N78.85bn was given for Derivation (13 per cent of Mineral Revenue) and the total of N50bn was saved.
It also revealed that Petroleum Profit Tax Value Added Tax, Import Duty, Excise Duty and Customs External Tariff levies increased significantly, while Oil and Gas Royalties increased marginally. Electronic Money Transfer Levy and Companies Income Tax recorded considerable decreases.
“On the fiscal side, there is a move to raise the forex trading”, Edu said in his opening remarks at the meeting.
He informed the gathering that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, in its determination to achieve and ensure rapid and sustained economic growth in the country, has commenced the intervention programme which is a direct payment to about 15 – to 17m poorest and vulnerable Nigerians, after carefully making sure that the system is fraud-free, using the Biometric Registration and Digital Registering.
“There is an increase in revenue, and we are commending the revenue-generating agencies for their hard work”, he explained.
