- The Federation Account Allocation Committee distributed a total of ₦10.45tn to Nigeria’s three tiers of government between January and May 2026, marking a 25.85% increase from the ₦8.30tn shared during the same period in 2025.
- Organized labor and private sector stakeholders have strongly criticized governments at all levels, stating that the unprecedented revenue growth has failed to mitigate worsening poverty, deteriorating infrastructure, and widespread insecurity.
- The Nigeria Revenue Service, aiming for a ₦40tn federal target, has warned ministries, departments, and agencies that unremitted taxes will be deducted directly from their monthly statutory allocations.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee distributed a total of ₦10.45tn to the three tiers of government between January and May 2026, representing a 25.85% increase compared to the ₦8.30tn disbursed during the corresponding period last year.
Eko Hot Blog reports that despite this substantial growth in distributable revenue, the Nigeria Labour Congress and economic experts have faulted public administrators for failing to utilize the funds to improve the standard of living, repair collapsing infrastructure, or curb insecurity across the country.
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A statistical analysis of the five-month fiscal cycle shows that the allocations were drawn from a gross federation revenue of ₦13.76tn.
The upward trajectory in available cash was largely driven by stronger Value Added Tax collections, higher oil-related tax receipts, and an aggressive compliance campaign by the Nigeria Revenue Service.
A breakdown of the allocations indicates that the Federal Government received the largest share of ₦3.72tn, followed closely by the 36 state governments with ₦3.56tn.
The 774 Local Government Areas collectively received ₦2.51tn, while ₦673.17bn was shared among the oil-producing states as 13% derivation revenue.
Reacting to the figures, the Assistant General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Chris Onyeka, stated that the increased funding has had no positive impact on the welfare of ordinary citizens and workers.
Onyeka noted that the rising cost of transport, feeding, and housing continues to overwhelm households, while public infrastructure across the nation faces ongoing decay.
He emphasized that persistent insecurity remains the most critical indicator of governance failure, explaining that rural farmers cannot safely access their lands, which directly fuels the current food crisis.
In a similar vein, the Chief Executive Officer of the Center for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr. Muda Yusuf, observed that while a few states have initiated impactful interventions like mass transit schemes and agricultural input support, many governors continue to prioritize capital-intensive physical projects with low direct impact on immediate living standards.
Yusuf cautioned against a structural imbalance where rising state revenues coexist with expanding poverty levels, urging state administrations to take greater financial and operational responsibility for local security measures.
The revenue growth also follows the implementation of a revised VAT sharing formula, which reduced the federal share from 15% to 10% while increasing the state component to 55%.
However, total collections still fell below initial projections, as the NRS generated ₦7.44tn in the first quarter against a target of ₦9.68tn.
To bridge this gap, the Executive Director of the Government and Large Taxpayer Directorate, Amina Ado, stated that the agency has empowered the Accountant General of the Federation to make direct deductions from the budgetary allocations of any defaulting public institution to enforce total compliance.
