The Federal Government, states and local government authorities shared a total of N4.55 trillion between January and September this year as disbursements from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).
According to the latest quarterly report of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), released in Abuja on Wednesday, out of the N4.55 trillion that was shared in the review period, N1.76 trillion was disbursed in the third quarter as against the N1.38 trillion and N1.41trillion shared in the second and first quarters of the year, respectively.
It also showed that between January and September, the Federal Government received the highest allocation of N1.85 trillion, followed by state governments with N1.51trillion and the 774 local governments with N913.8 billion.
The sum of N271.78 billion went to the Department of Petroleum Resources, Nigeria Customs Service and the Federal Inland Revenue Service as costs of revenue collection.
Further analysis showed that the revenues shared to the federating units were higher in the third quarter, a situation that has been the pattern for some years now.
For instance, while the Federal Government got N549.41billion in the second quarter of 2017, the third quarter figure was N752.79 billion, an increase of 37.02 per cent. The trend was the same for the states and local governments, as they received N586.58billion and N363.98billion in the third quarter as against N467.13billion and N280.42billion in the second quarter, respectively.
The report noted that the percentage increases between the two quarters for the two tiers of government were 25.57 per cent and 29.8 per cent.
It attributed the reason for the increases in FAAC disbursements to the three tiers of government in the third quarter to the positive developments in the oil sector occasioned by resurgent crude prices and increased production levels.
The NEITI quarterly review report based its analysis on data obtained from FAAC, the National Bureau of Statistics, Federal Ministry of Finance and the Budget Office of the Federation.
The report stated that the “upward trend in the FAAC disbursements to the three tiers of government are encouraging signs, which if sustained, will improve government expenditures, help to boost economic activities and move the country further away from recession.”
The report also stated that Nigeria’s revenue in the first half of 2017 was about 49 per cent lower than the budgeted figures.
It stated that while the government projected N5.368trillion revenue inflow in its 2017 fiscal framework for the first six months of the year, the actual inflow was N2.712trillion.
The government’s half-year projections were N2.67trillion for oil and N2.7trillion for non-oil revenues, but the actual revenue fell short of projections.
“Actual oil revenue was N1.587trillion, representing a shortfall of N1.079trillion, implying a 40.4 per cent underperformance. Non-oil revenue fared slightly worse, as only 41.6 per cent of the projected revenue was realised. Actual non-oil revenue totalled N1.125 trillion, indicating a shortfall of N1.575 trillion,” the report stated.
It pointed out that while the government projected that the non-oil sector would outperform the oil sector, the latter performed better by as much as 41 per cent in revenue generation, raking in N1.587 trillion as against N1.125 trillion for the non-oil sector.
Figures for the three tiers of government were no different. The Federal Government had hoped for N2.542 trillion revenue flow for the first half of the year, but the actual revenue was N1.497 trillion.
A breakdown of the inflows showed that the oil sector accounted for a larger part of the shortfall, with a 60 per cent drop, while the non-oil sector underperformed by 49 per cent.
“Budgeted half-year inflow from the oil sector was N1.061 trillion but actual oil inflow to the Federal Government was N414 billion. The Federal Government’s budget estimated half-year non-oil revenue inflow at N705 billion, but realised only N352 billion, indicating a 49 per cent shortfall,” the NEITI report stated.
FG sacks trade fair complex concessionaire
The Federal Government has sacked the concessionaire in charge of the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex over non-remittance of lease fees totalling N6 billion.
As stated in the termination letter issued by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), the concessionaire, Aulic Nigeria Limited, had breached the agreement it signed in 2007 with the Federal Government.
According to the letter, the illegalities perpetrated over the years by the concessionaire vary from the non-remittance of the lease fees to the alleged eviction of the management board from the administrative building, among others.
The letter stated that the NCP terminated the concession agreement on August 23, but took some time to implement the decision due to logistics and security reasons.
The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, had on November 20, issued a directive that the concessionaire be evicted from the complex and this was smoothly carried out.
According to the termination letter, the management board, headed by the Executive Director, Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, Mrs. Lucy Ajayi, was directed to take possession of the complex from the concessionaire.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Tuesday, Ajayi said the board would now be able to perform its statutory function and move the complex to greater heights.
Ajayi, while addressing the shop owners, assured them that they were in an era of new change, stating that the management board would do its best to ensure that their interests were taken into consideration.
“I want to thank you all for your perseverance and endurance during those trying periods. I use this medium to assure you that all those injustices meted out to you in time past are over,” she said.
The Chairman, Stakeholders Forum, Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, Mr. Jude Okeke, described the takeover by the management board as a re-birth for the complex.
According to him, by design, the management board is supposed to be the landlord of the complex, overseeing all the activities within and around it.
“We have been in the wilderness for a long time and this has caused a lot of losses in financial, trade and other aspects,” Okeke stated.