FG, States, LGs Share N1.123tn March Revenue

*Rivers IGR hits N26bn monthly

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja and Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) yesterday shared a total sum of N1.123.391 trillion Federation Account Revenue to the federal, states and local governments for the month of March.
The amount shared by FAAC was lower than the N1.152.756 trillion shared in the preceding month of February.

This was just as Rivers State Governor, Mr. Siminalayi Fubara, disclosed that all projects carried out by his administration in the state were funded from the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) savings. The governor has restated that his administration operates a transparent accounting system in its deployment of scarce resources in providing essential services to the people.

Fubara,  who spoke when he played host to members of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts at the Government House in Port Harcourt, yesterday, disclosed that between the period of his emergence into office, his administration has increased the IGR to between N26 billion and N27 billion monthly.

However, citing a communique issued by the FAAC at its April, 2024 meeting in Abuja, a statement from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), said the N1123.391. trillion total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N311.233 billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N511. 879 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N14.754 billion and Exchange Difference revenue of N285.525 billion.  
According to the statement, a total revenue of N1.867.808 trillion was available in the month of March 2024.  

Total deductions for cost of collection was N69.537 billion while total transfers, interventions and refunds was N674.880 billion.
Gross statutory revenue of N1,017.216 trillion was received for the month of March 2024.
This was lower than the N1,192.428 trillion received in the month of February 2024 by N175. 212 billion.  
The gross revenue available from VAT in March 2024 was N549.698 billion, indicating a rise over the N460.488 billion available in the month of February 2024 by N89.210 billion.

 
The communique stated that from the N1.123.391 trillion total distributable revenue, the federal government received a total of N345.890 billion, the state governments received N398.689 billion while the local government councils received N288.688 billion.
A total sum of N90.124 billion (representing 13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting states as derivation revenue.

From the N311.233 billion distributable statutory revenue, the federal government received N133.960 billion, the state governments received N67.946 billion and the local governments got N52.384 billion. The sum of N56.943 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting states as derivation revenue.
Also, the federal government received N76.782 billion, states received N255.940 billion and the local governments received N179.158 billion from the N511.879 billion distributable VAT revenue for the month of March.
The N14.754 billion Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) was shared as follows: the federal government received N2.213 billion, states received N7.377 billion while the local government councils received N5.164 billion.

The federal government also received N132.935 billion from the N285.525 billion Exchange Difference revenue.  

The state governments received N67.426 billion, and the local governments received N51.983 billion.

The sum of N33.181 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting states as derivation revenue.

Import Duty, VAT, Gas Royalty, companies income tax (CIT) and others increased considerably while Excise Duty, Oil Royalty, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) and CET Levies in the month of March.    

The balance in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) remains static at  $473,754.57.

Meanwhile, Fubara, who spoke when he played host to members of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts at the Government House in Port Harcourt, recalled that when he was appointed the Accountant General in 2020, the public accounting reporting position of the state changed for the best because he understood the numbers and how to clearly present the details.

He said the culture of prudence and transparency has been maintained as he assumed governorship of the state despite the challenges that had confronted his administration.

Fubara stated that in managing the finances, he has also increased the IGR of the state, which is deployed to deliver on the core target areas of his administration.

He said, “As an organised government, when we came on board, we met a very big challenge. For 11 years, there was no promotion in this State Civil Service. So, imagine a government that inherited about 52,000 civil servants, and you want to pay them for years that they had been denied their dues.

“What we were paying before I came in was an average of N5.3 billion. Let us even do 25 per cent of it: it can’t be anything less than eight point something billion that we are doing now. That was what we started paying.

“How much is our allocation? So, we needed to think outside the box. That was where we now did a rejig of our Internally Generated Revenue. And I can tell you today that all the projects we are doing, we don’t borrow,” he said.

Fubara insisted, “We are very transparent. We are not hiding anything. That is why I boldly would say it. The least we do this period is N26 billion – N27 billion. The highest they were doing before was N12 billion – N13 billion.”

The governor emphasised that everything will be done to apply the funds in areas that will bring positive change in improving education, healthcare and agriculture in the state.

“We will also do a few roads but the most important things are these three sectors. That is the only way we can save ourselves from this present situation of hardship. Save ourselves from the issues of societal ill: you call it cultism and others.

“Education is the only instrument we can use to fight social vices. And we need quality healthcare. You need to be alive to even drive a good car on the roads. You can imagine how much we spend on medical tourism.

“Then, agriculture: we have to ensure food security and sufficiency. We have to feed ourselves to tame hunger. So, those are the targets of this government.”

Earlier in his address, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, Hon.Bamidele Salam, said they were in the state for the first retreat of the committee.

Salam pointed out that they chose the state because it was peaceful and has a governor who understands what governance truly means and has never been distracted by the political crisis confronting his administration.