States have received N7.1trn under current administration — Edun

Achieves 37.4 % revenue in H1

Says FG to review revenue collection cost

By Emma Ujah,  Abuja Bureau Chief

in addition to their regular statutory allocations the Federal Government, FG, said the State Governments, SGs, and Local Governments, LGs, are getting more funds under the current administration leading to a surplus of about N7.1 trillion.

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, disclosed this at a press briefing in Abuja, yesterday.

According to him, the funds consisted of statutory allocations as well as refunds made to them for earlier deductions, noting that the federal government was effectively passing proceeds of the fuel subsidy removal to Nigerians.

His words: “We are increasing resources available to the sub-nationals, to the states, for educational, health and infrastructure.

“We are making repayments of past deductions to the federation account, funds which are legitimately owed to the sub-national levels of government.

“Those payments are being made on a regular basis. And since the first half of 2023, the combined fiscal balance of the states has grown from 1.8% of GDP to 3.1%.   That is from N2.8 trillion to N7.1 trillion which is a surplus.

“That means that the states have been provided funding that has now allowed them to be in surplus. And of course, that gives them the greater capacity to invest in, and from an economic classification standpoint, it must be said that the increase in spending of the states has in fact mainly gone to capital expenditure.”

He noted that in the last quarter, the federal government paid contractors over N2 trillion to settle outstanding capital budget obligations from last year, adding that going forward, the focus will shift to 2025 capital releases.

The minister also stated that that the federal government achieved 37.4% of its revenue target in the first half of the year (H1’25).

“Gross revenues are of 37.4% government revenues target in the first half of 2025,” he stressed.

Also following GDP rebasing, Edun revealed that debt to GDP ratio fell from 52.1 percent to 38.8 percent.

He added that in order to address the obvious deficit challenges facing the administration, spending would be prioritised, adding that the government will also pay closer attention to raising revenue from its existing assets.

On Ways and Means, the minister said: “When we look at the fiscal position of government and public finances, under the leadership of the president, bold steps have been taken to restore fiscal discipline and balance.

“We have ended the unauthorised and above limits funding by Ways and Means, which was a natural default when looking for funds to fund anything.”

The minister further disclosed that the federal government will review the cost of revenue collection, usually deducted revenue agencies, in an attempt to increase the overall government earnings.

“We will look to review deductions from the federation account that come from things like the collections charges of various agencies, such as Customs, FIRS, NUPRC, and indeed the charges that NNPC levies for managing the Frontier Exploration Fund, and indeed as a management fee to government for managing NNPC’s activities,” he stated.

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