The Central Bank of Nigeria has disclosed that Nigeria recorded a 67 per cent jump in its non-oil revenue which hit over N4 trillion in the third quarter of the outgoing year.
The apex bank which disclosed this in its third-quarter economic report added that the federal government’s collected revenue increased by 50.1 per cent in the period under review.
The CBN, in the report posted on its website at the weekend, noted that the non-oil revenue increased to N4.79tn from the prior quarter because of higher non-oil receipts but fell below the budget benchmark by 9.5 per cent.
According to the report, “Gross Federation earnings increased, driven, primarily, by more revenue from non-oil sources, surpassing Q22023 levels by 50.1 per cent, but below the budget benchmark by 9.5 per cent.
“The enhanced position in non-oil earnings was attributed to higher receipts from Company income (CIT), Customs and excise Duties, Value-Added Tax (VAT), Production Sharing Contract (PSC), and the 2023 interim dividend declaration by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). The provisional expenditure of the FGN declined by 26.0 per cent due primarily to reduced debt service.
“Non-oil revenue continued to dominate federation revenue, accounting for 83.0 per cent, while oil revenue made up the balance of 17.0 per cent. Driven by receipts from production sharing contracts and dividends from NNPCL, oil revenue, at N814.23 billion, rose by 0.6 per cent above the level in the preceding quarter, but was below the target of N2,410.89 billion by 66.2 per cent, the report said.”
It added that “Non-oil revenue, at N3,977.16 billion, was 66.9 per cent above the level in the preceding quarter and exceeded the target by 38.0 per cent, reflecting higher collections of CIT, Custom & Excise Duties, and VAT. The increase in receipts was driven by improved economic activities, seasonality in tax returns, particularly CIT; and improved efficiency in tax administration, the report stated.”
Despite these high earnings, the World Bank has accused the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited of not being transparent about the financial gains from fuel subsidy removal and remittances to the federation account.
The CBN report however explained that in the third quarter of the year, a net balance of N2,796.17 billion was distributed among the three tiers of government, of which Federal, State, and Local governments received N1,058.00 billion, N920.49 billion, and N677.53 billion, respectively.
The balance of N140.15 billion was transferred to the 13% Derivation Fund and allocated to oil-producing states. The disbursement was 27.9 per cent above the level in Q22023 but was 14.5 per cent short of the target, the report said.
Provisional FGN retained revenue improved, largely, on account of higher receipts from the VAT Pool Account and Exchange gain. At N1,693.02 billion, FGN retained revenue was above collections in the preceding quarter by 12.1 per cent, but fell short of the target of N2,761.28 by 38.7 per cent.
