Chairman, RMFAC, Mohammed Bello
The Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission has disclosed that a total sum of N7.3tn accrued into the Federation Account between July and December 2023, indicating an increased revenue inflow.
It said the amount shared by the Federation Account Allocation Committee was remitted to the Central Bank of Nigeria under the caption “CBN Federation Account Component Statement”.
In a press statement signed by the RMAFC Chairman, Mr Mohammed Bello Shehu, and made available to The PUNCH on Thursday in Abuja, the commission reported that the amount is higher than the N5.24tn realised during the first half of the year 2023.
According to Shehu, out of the total gross revenue inflows into the Federation Account, the sum of N1.69tn was transferred to the Exchange Gain Differential Account, thus leaving a balance of N5.475bn for distribution.
He added that from the amount stated above, the sum of N3.26tn was deducted as approved statutory deductions by the OAGF, leaving a net balance of N2.2tn for distribution within the three tiers of government in the period under review.
The chairman further explained that out of the N3.267tn statutory deduction indicated above, the sum of N2.251tn was transferred to the Non-Oil Excess Account as savings, thus leaving a net statutory deduction of N1.016tn with further augmentations for sharing among the three tiers of government received from some “reserve accounts.”
The statement added that within the period under review, the net sum of N4tn was shared within the three tiers of government.
In terms of percentages, the chairman stressed that “the statutory deduction in the second half of the year constituted 44.12 per cent of the total gross inflow into the Federation Account in the six-month period, which was higher than the first half deductions of 42.31 per cent (inclusive of transfer to the Non-Oil Excess Account).”
On remittances by Revenue Generating Agencies, the RMAFC boss disclosed that out of the total gross revenue inflows into the Federation Account, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited remitted N874 64bn in the second half of the year as against the zero-remittance made in the first half of the year.
Additionally, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission remitted the sum of N1.56tn while the Federal Inland Revenue Service remitted the sum of N3.65tn.
The government received a boost in its earnings following the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market by the current administration.
Although, these policies brought more money to government coffers, citizens are at the receiving end of the harsh economic realities.
In a related development, the RMAFC chairman has advocated that the cost of collection received by revenue-generating agencies should henceforth be tied to their performance as a way of increasing revenue generation and remittances.
This proposal, outlined by the RMAFC chairman is meant to incentivise RGAs to be more proactive in generating revenue for the Federation Account.
He explained that such a move would further encourage RGAs to devise new strategies for enhancing revenue generation and remittances so as to increase the cost of collection.
“We strongly advocate that payment of the cost of collection to RGAs should be tied to revenue performance. In other words, each RGA should receive a cost of collection commensurate with the revenue generated against its revenue target, as provided for in the Appropriation Act,” he concluded.
