The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has put the total sum of revenue shared by the three tiers of government in the country last year at N6.418 trillion.
The NEITI in its latest edition of the Quarterly Review titled: “Analysis of FAAC Disbursements in 2017 and Projections for 2018” indicated that the total amount shared by the tiers of government during the Federation Account Allocation Committee’s (FAAC’s) meetings showed an increase of 25.8 percent and compared to total disbursements of N5.1 trillion shared in 2016.
However, it represented about 6.8 per cent when compared with the distributions to the tiers of government totaling N6.011 trillion in 2015.
A breakdown of the amount disbursed in 2017 showed that the Federal Government received N2.564 trillion; the 36 States got N1.859 trillion, while the 774 local governments shared N1.502 trillion.
Similarly, the review report indicated that when analysed on state – by – state distributions basis, Akwa Ibom State received the highest share of 143.6 billion, followed by Rivers State with a total allocation of N119.6 billion.
Also, Delta State came third with a total allocation of N111.2 billion in 2017 while Bayelsa State got N105.3 billion to take the fourth position. However, Osun State which received N10.4 billion occupied the lowest position in the revenue distribution for the year under review.
However, the review also showed that despite the fact that FAAC disbursements increased in 2017 over the amount shared in 2015 and 2016 among the tiers of government, the 2017 distribution was lower by 34.1 per cent and 25.3 per cent than total disbursements of N9.742 trillion and N8.595 trillion in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
The NEITI report attributed the revenue increase in 2017 to rising oil prices, improved oil production, and greater attention towards development of non-oil revenue sectors.
This is even as the agency projected brighter revenue prospects for the country in the current fiscal year as a result of the current rising oil prices at the international market as well as potential for improved oil production.
A further analysis of the NEITI review of FAAC allocations on quarter-by-quarter basis showed the third quarter of 2017 recorded highest revenues of N1.929 trillion, while second quarter recorded the lowest revenues of N1.377 trillion.
The review document also indicated that revenue disbursements from Value Added Tax (VAT) had been on the increase since 2015, showing an indication of a positive signal in recognition of the government’s policy towards the development of non-oil sectors through sustained revenue generation from services.
