Nigeria’s cost of servicing the debt exceeds the country’s retained revenue by N310 billion in the first four months of 2022.
This was revealed in the 2022 fiscal performance report for four months released on Thursday, July 21, by the federal government.
While the federal government’s total revenue for the period was N1.63 trillion, debt service gulped N1.94 trillion.
“The aggregate expenditure for 2022 is estimated at N17.32 trillion, with a private spending target of N5.77 at end of April.
“The actual spending as of April 31st (sic) was N4.72 trillion. Of this amount, N1.94 trillion was for debt service, and N1.26 trillion was for personnel costs, including pensions.
“As of April, N773.63 billion has been spent on capital expenditure.
“As of April 2022, FGN’s retained revenue was only N1.63 trillion, 49 percent of the pro-rata target of N3.32 trillion,’ the reports read.
According to the reports, the federal government’s share of oil revenues was N285.38 billion (representing 39 percent performance), while non-oil tax revenues totaled N632.56 billion — a performance of 84 percent.
It was gathered that the federal government also generated N401.8 billion from company income tax (CIT) and value-added tax (VAT).
“CIT and VAT collections were N298.83 billion and N102.97 billion, representing 99 percent and 98 percent of their respective targets.
“Customs collections (made up of import duties, excise, and fees, as well as a federation, account special levies) trailed the target by N76.77 billion (25.42 percent).
“Other revenues amounted to N664.64 billion, of which independent revenue was N394.09 billion,’ the report added.
Speaking on the reports, Zainab Ahmed the Minister of finance, budget, and national planning said that extreme action is needed to address revenue underperformance and expenditure efficiency at national and sub-national levels.
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