Federal, states, councils share N325 billion
From Mathias Okwe, Abuja
THE three tiers of the government yesterday shared N325 billion from the Federation Account for the month of June.
About N273.804 billion revenue was generated during the period, with oil accounting for the lion share of N188.160 billion while the non-oil sector accounted for N85.644 billion. To make up for the figure shared yesterday, N27.876 billion was withdrawn from the Excess Crude Account, and N27 billion from the Value Added Tax by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
The Federal Government received N124.348 billion, the states got N63.071 billion while the councils had N48.624 billion.
Under the VAT spectrum, the Federal Government received N5.771 billion, the states, N19.237 billion while the councils went home with N13.466 billion.
The sum of N23.097 billion went to oil producing states for the month.
Meanwhile, the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has initiated alliances for national development between states and the Federal Government.
The alliances constitute a new phase of collaborative development at the federal and state levels aimed at fast-tracking economic growth and development.
The states' commissioners for finance are expected from this month to share ideas and experiences on development and strategies adopted in their respective states to improve performance level for adoption.
Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Remi Babalola, disclosed this in Abuja yesterday at the monthly FAAC meeting at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers.
The meeting was attended by the Accountant- General of the Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo; the Director of Home Finance in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Mr. Lexy Omoha, the 36 states' commissioners for finance and accountants-general, and representatives of Federal Capital Territory Administration, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
In his presentation to FAAC members titled "Partnering for National Development," Babalola said successful economies had adopted collaborative efforts to achieve economic growth and development.
He added that alliances and collaborative efforts had also been proven to be very effective ways of ensuring rapid development in both public and private sectors worldwide.
"Today's FAAC meeting would mark the beginning of a new approach of collaborative development and the sharing of ideas amongst the state representatives of this committee. The Commissioner of Finance, Lagos State, Mr. Rotimi Oyekan, will share with us some of the strategies employed in ensuring increased internal revenue generation in the Centre of Excellence.
"The series will continue at the next meeting with Adamawa and Kwara states sharing their experiences in boosting agricultural development in their states. As policy makers and custodians of development, I urge the members of this committee to embrace the spirit of working beyond their state borders and reaching out to their colleagues in other states.
"We are now at a point in our national development where progress will be measured by our ability to work together as a tag team. Nigeria is the main country that has the greatest impact on whether Africa's potentials are realised or we continue stagnating. Continuous development can only be sustained through cooperation and collaborative efforts in the area of policy formulation and project execution," Babalola said.
