By Adeola Akinbobola

It was a bountiful harvest as Federal Government, 36 state governments and 774 Local Government Councils (LGCs) on Tuesday shared N3.007 trillions as Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) revenue for the month of July.

The FAAC revenue shared in July represented an increase of N658.087 billion, or 17.8 per cent, compared with the N3.700 trillion recorded in June.

The Director, Press and Public Relations Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), Mr Bawa Mokwa, said this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

Mokwa said the allocation was approved by FAAC at its regular monthly meeting in Owerri, Imo.

He said the meeting was convened on the margins of the ongoing National Council of Federation and Economic Development (NACOFED).

He said the July figures indicated an improvement in statutory revenue, with gross statutory revenue rising to N4.359 trillion.

Mokwa said it represented an increase of N658.087 billion, or 17.8 per cent, compared with the N3.700 trillion recorded in June.

According to Mokwa, the gross Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue stood at N793.968 billion, a marginal decline of N5.778 billion, or 0.7 per cent, from the N799.746 billion recorded in June.

He quoted the FAAC communiqué as saying that the increase in statutory revenue was driven by significant growth in several revenue streams, including Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT).

“Others are Hydrocarbon Tax (HT), Companies Income Tax (CIT), Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Stamp Duty Tax (SDT), petroleum royalties, mineral royalties, excise duty and gas-flaring penalties.

“The gains were partly offset by declines in VAT, import duty, CET levies, rental of gas-flaring fees and miscellaneous oil revenue,” he said.

He said that the committee would continue to work with revenue-generating agencies to address collection gaps and strengthen remittance discipline.

Mokwa also reaffirmed FAAC’s commitment to the full, transparent and timely remittance of collectible revenues into the Federation Account, ahead of the planned accounts reconciliation exercise.

He stressed the need to diversify the federation’s revenue based beyond oil, in line with ongoing tax administration and non-oil revenue mobilisation reforms.

“FAAC also highlighted the importance of continued coordination between the Federal Government and state governments.

“The coordination is through NACOFED on fiscal policy, revenue sharing and broader economic development priorities,” he said.

He said that solid minerals and other non-oil royalty streams remained areas with significant potential for expanding federation revenue.

Mokwa also said that improvement in statutory revenue recorded in July would require continued discipline in revenue collection and remittance by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

He reiterated support for reforms, aimed at improving the predictability, sustainability and growth of allocations to the three tiers of government. (NAN)