FRC: FG Posted Consistent 43% Average Revenue Shortfall in 10 Years

•Laments persistent inefficiencies in public finance management
Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

The Executive Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), Victor Muruako, has underscored the urgent need for a paradigm shift in Nigeria’s revenue strategy, stressing that fiscal efficiency and plugging financial leakages were critical to national economic stability.
Muruako lamented the persistent inefficiencies in Nigeria’s public finance management system, citing FRC’s analysis of federal budgets from 2011 to 2021.
Muruako spoke in Kuru, Jos, Plateau State, yesterday, at the opening ceremony of a high-level training programme which focused on “Strategies for Increased Fiscal Efficiency, Enhanced Government Revenue, and Plugging Leakages in the Nigerian Financial System.”
Represented by his Special Adviser, Dr. Chris Uwadoka, at the event which was jointly organised by the FRC, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), and ThinkBig Consulting Ltd. for Government-Owned Enterprises (GOEs) and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Muruako stated that the federal government had consistently realised far less revenue than projected, with an average shortfall of 43 per cent over the decade.
The FRC chief executive highlighted striking examples in 2017 where the government projected N5.084 trillion revenue, but realised only N2.658 trillion, representing a 91.3 per cent shortfall.
Also in 2018, a projected N7.166 trillion revenue yielded N3.866 trillion or 85.3 per cent variance.
Such wide discrepancies, he lamented, had entrenched a cycle of missed targets, rising debt, and diminished public trust.
“This workshop is not just a gathering but a strategic intervention. Our mission is to strengthen fiscal operations, maximise every naira, and ensure that government-owned enterprises and key agencies contribute effectively to Nigeria’s revenue mobilisation efforts,” he stated.
According to a statement by the FRC Head/Deputy Director, Strategic Communications Directorate, Bede Ogueri Anyanwu, other speakers at the event reinforced the need for accountability and fiscal discipline.
One of the speakers, who represented the judiciary, Ifeoma Ezeoke, delivered a goodwill message, urging transparency in the management of public funds, and encouraged participants to apply lessons learnt to strengthen governance.
Senior Fellow and Chief Operating Officer at the Centre for Financial Economics of the NIPSS, Kuru, Dr. Solomon Titus Gushibet, described the workshop as both academic and strategic. “This gathering brings together some of the brightest minds in government agencies to sharpen the tools of fiscal governance and ensure that every naira counts,” he remarked.
Prof. Jane Omotayo Ande, the first female professor of accounting who represented the Director General, NIPSS National Institute of Policy and Strategic studies, Kuru, Prof. Ayo Omotayo, commended the FRC for its commitment to fiscal reforms.
She urged participants to formulate actionable policy recommendations that would enhance transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s economic management.
The training programme is expected to generate practical strategies for closing the gap between fiscal projections and actual outcomes, while fostering a culture of prudence, efficiency, and integrity in Nigeria’s financial system.