Federal, States, LGAs Share N617bn In March
BY COBHAM NSA, ABUJA – The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) has distributed about N617.56 billion to the three tiers of government as shared revenue generated for the month of March 2019.
However, the amount represents a drop of about N2.29 billion from the figure that was distributed in February.
Going its sharing summary, FAAC indicated that of the amount, N208.39 billion went to the Federal Government while the 36 states received N105.7 billion with N81.49 billion going to the 774 local government councils in the country.
As usual, about N39.59 billion, representing 13 per cent derivation from the mineral revenue was shared by all the oil producing states.
Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Ahmed Idris, who gave a breakdown of the March revenue accruals and distribution on Tuesday, said the mineral revenue decline by N41.65 billion to N308.4 billion in March compared to the N350.09 billion recorded in the month of February.
Speaking at the monthly FAAC meeting in Abuja, Idris said the story was different in the non-mineral income as the sector recorded about N13.88 billion rise from the February figure of N124.3 billion to N138.2 billion in March.
According to him, the month also witnessed a 49.18 per cent boost in the federation crude oil sales, with the federation revenue hitting the mark of $240.23 million.
The Accountant General also stated that; “the average crude oil price increased from 63.62 dollars to 79.06 dollars per barrel”, adding; “Lifting operations were adversely affected by production Shut in and Shut down at various terminals due to technical issues, leaks and maintenance.”
He further disclosed that; “Revenues from oil royalty, import and excise duties increased remarkably while Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) decreased marginally.”
On the Excess Crude Account (ECA), Mr Idris said the amount left in the coffers was 183 million dollars as at April 25, 2019.
He said the ECA depleted to the current figure following withdrawals by the Federal Government to procure essential Military hardware to combat insurgency and other criminal elements, especially in the North East and North West regions of the country.
On the N30,000 new minimum wage, the Accountant General said technically its implementation has already commenced, assuring that the arrears would be paid to workers once there is cash backing from the government purse.
In a related development, Chairman of the State Finance Commissioners Forum, Mr Mahmoud Yunusa announced that the Commissioner of Finance, Kogi state has been appointed as acting Head to oversee the Forum’s affairs in the interim until incoming State Governors appoint new commissioners after their swearing-in on May 29, 2019.
