Excess crude account drops to $4.1bn as FG, states, LGs share N654.5bn
FAAC ponders directive on first line charge for judiciary
James Emejo
Production hiccups including a force majeure declared by Shell, shutdown of trunk lines and pipelines at Akpo and Bonny terminals caused a significant decline in monthly receipts as gross revenue for July dropped by about N154.5 billion to about N630.3 billion compared to about N784.8 billion in June.
Also, a substantial decline in Company Income Tax (CIT) has further dampened the prospects for higher collections for the month.
Notwithstanding, a total distributable revenue amounting to about N654.5 billion was yesterday shared among the three tiers of government for July.
Briefing journalists yesterday after the monthly meeting of the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in Abuja, the Minister of State for Finance, Alhaji Bashir Yuguda, said the sum of N6.2 billion was transferred to the Excess Crude Account (ECA), bringing its current value to about $4.1 billion compared to about $4.5 billion in June.
He said the sum of N35 billion was also transferred to the domestic crude account for the month under review.
According to him, revenue from value added tax (VAT) also dropped to about N65.4 billion compared to about N66.4 billion the previous month.
The mineral revenue also dropped to N483.5 billion in July compared to about N517.3 billion in June while the non- mineral component also declined to about N146.8 billion compared to about N267.5 billion the previous month.
Giving a breakdown of the sharing of statutory revenue among the tiers of government, Yuguda said the federal government received about N 257.3 billion while the states got about N130.5 billion as well as the local governments with about N100.6 billion.
The sum of about N52.8 billion was shared among the oil and gas producing states under the derivation principle.
For the VAT receipts, the federal government got about N9.4 billion, states received about N31.4 billion while the local governments shared about N31.4 billion.
Meanwhile, speaking to journalists after the meeting, Chairman, Forum of Finance Commissioners, Mr. Timothy Odah, said the committee deliberated on the recent court directive that the judiciary be put on the first line charge.
He said FAAC remained cautious in implementing the order in view of the implications that it could have on other institutions which might be capitalised on it to press for same conditions particularly at a period when the country is facing continuous challenges in financial resources.
Odah said the committee had resolved to direct the matter to the respective state governors for further directive.
On the declining revenue, he urged all the tiers of government to be prudent and engage only in projects that have direct benefits to the people.
On the declining revenue, he urged all the tiers of government to be prudent and engage only in projects that have direct benefits to the people.
