Nigeria’s Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) said it generated total revenue of N725 billion for the Federal Government in the first half of 2022.
This was disclosed by the Commission’s Chairman, Chief Victor Muruako, on Monday in Lagos at the technical assistance to sub-nationals/workshop on sustaining the gains of fiscal transparency and accountability across states.
Muruako disclosed that the FRC, in the discharge of its mandate, improved the independent revenue of the Federal Government.
- “I can tell you that by 2020, the independent revenue of the Federal Government for that financial year was about N525 billion; FRC has been instrumental, working with other agencies and the National Assembly, to achieve an increase in the independent revenue of the Federal Government,” he said.
How FRC achieved this: The Commission generated the revenues through interests on capital, dividends, and rental incomes, as captured by the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007 which requires government agencies to remit 80% of such revenues to the Consolidated Revenue Fund account.
- “For the first time in the history of the country, its independent revenue exceeded the N1 trillion mark in 2021. This year, the Federal Government has already achieved N725 billion, from independent revenue, that is, half of the year, and we expect that the target for this year will still be achieved because most of the independent revenues usually come in between the third and fourth quarter,” Muruako explained.
Advice for states: The FRC urged states to explore more avenues towards boosting their revenue base, adding that many revenue sources have been left unexplored. He also noted that the Federal Government cannot be borrowing when citizens are expanding, hence the need for states to generate more revenue.
