FG, States, LGs Share N510bn for August

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja
The three tiers of government shared a total of N510.270 billion for the month of August at the monthly allocation from the Federation Account, an increase of N16.442 billion over the N493.828 billion shared by the federal, states and local governments in July.

Briefing journalists at the end of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, said the gross statutory revenue of N315.045 billion received for August was higher than N287.819 billion received in the previous month by N27.226 billion, adding that crude oil export increased by 2.2 million barrels in May 2016 despite the brief Force Majeure declared at Qua Iboe and Bonny Terminals and a subsisting Force Majeure at Forcados Terminal.

“Other terminals experienced the perennial problem of shut-in and shut-down of pipelines for repairs and maintenance. There was $109.40 million revenue increase in Federation Export Sales as a result of the increase in average price of crude oil from $42.21 in April to $46.06 per barrel in May 2016.

“A rise in the volume of dutiable imports contributed significantly to the increases recorded by Import Duty and VAT (Value Added Tax). Increase in PPT (Petroleum Profit Tax) collections was attributed to receipts from NPDC and Joint venture Operators. The flexible exchange rate regime helped to boost revenue for the current revenue including oil and gas royalty,” Adeosun said.

For the month of August, the minister stated that the gross revenue available from VAT was N75.962 billion as against N66.987 billion distributed in the preceding month (July), resulting in an increase of N8.975 billion..

She said the sum of N6.330 billion was refunded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to the federal government, adding that N35 billion PPT was proposed for distribution for August (including VAT), bringing the total to N510.270 billion.

Giving a the breakdown on how the N719.270 billion was shared, the minister said the federal, states and local governments got N149.310 billion, N75.732 billion, and N58.386 billion respectively, while N20.293 billion went to the oil producing states under the Derivation Principle.
Adeosun also disclosed that the Excess Crude Account (ECA) currently stands at N2.92 billion.

Among the issues discussed and adopted at the FAAC meeting were reports of revenue collection agencies and military pensions.