Waziri Adio, Executive Secretary NEITI
By Edith Ike-Eboh
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI stated the three tiers of government got N1.534 trillion as allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) for July, August and September 2016.
NEITI disclosed this in its in its Quarterly Review on disbursement to Federal Government, States and LGAs, released in Abuja on Tuesday.
It explained that the figure for the third quarter of 2016 was a major improvement over what was shared in each of the first and second quarters of 2016.
It attributed the improvement in revenues in the third quarter to the rally in the price of crude oil, the improvement in oil production as a result of reduction in militant activities in the Niger Delta region, and gains from adjustment in the exchange rate.
Giving a breakdown of the allocations, NEITI stated that the Federal Government received N697.9 billion; the states got N512.66 billion; and the local government areas collected N324.31 billion.
As stated by the report, the major spike was in July, when the three tiers of government shared N546.62 billion as against the N304.91 billion they shared in June, an increase of 79 per cent.
However, NEITI explained that the July trajectory was not sustained as revenues to the three tiers of government dipped to N486.02 billion in August but increased marginally to N502.23 billion in September.
This, it stated was a dip of 11 per cent and 8.12 per cent respectively on the July figure.
“Nevertheless, a different picture of dwindling allocations emerges when the FAAC disbursements for the third quarter of 2016 are compared to those of the third quarter of 2015.
“The federal government receipt in the third quarter of 2016 was N129.9 billion less than what it received in the corresponding period in 2015, while the states and the local government areas received N72.1 billion and N48.5 billion less respectively.
“However, a closer review of the non-oil revenue disbursements to the three tiers of government for the three quarters of 2016 showed a marginal increase over the same period in 2015,” it said
It further noted that the third quarter figure was still a significant dip when compared to the amount shared in the third quarter of 2015.
As stated by the statement, the figures showed that government allocations are improving even when the 2016 figures still lag behind the corresponding ones for 2015.
“This increase in government revenue portends well for the execution of budgets that have been constrained since the beginning of the year as a result of the drastic fall in FAAC disbursements,” it added.
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