Nigeria’s federal government spent N5.24 trillion on debt service between January and November 2022, compared with a capital expenditure of N1.88 trillion in the period.
The total spending for the 11-month period was N12.87 trillion.
Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, announced this in Abuja on Wednesday during the public presentation and breakdown of the highlights of the 2023 Appropriation Act signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday.
She said N3.94 trillion was spent on personnel costs, including pensions, while statutory transfers, overhead and service wide votes expenditures totalled N1.81 trillion.
Fiscal deficit, which has over the years become burdensome, was estimated at N8.17 trillion in 2022, inclusive of the supplementary budget, but as at end November, it was recorded at 6.37 trillion.
The deficit was totally financed by borrowings, mostly from domestic sources.
Ahmed also hinted at plans to amend the 2007 Fiscal Responsibility Act to accommodate a possible further raise of the statutory fiscal deficit from the current 3 percent of GDP, saying this is no longer feasible, considering current realities.
“We are already working with the National Assembly on this,” she said.
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Speaking further on the performance of the 2022 budget implementation, which the National Assembly has, however, extended to March 31, 2023, Ahmed said the federal government’s retained revenue was recorded at N6.5 trillion as at November 2022, about 87 percent of the prorata target of N7.48 trillion.
A breakdown of the federal government’s revenue for 2022 showed that actual proceeds from oil between January and November was N586.71 billion, as against the N1.642 trillion prorated estimate. This represents 35.7 percent performance, leaving a deficit of 64.3 percent (N1.056 trillion).
At N2.09 trillion, non-oil tax revenues recorded a 123.3 percent performance. It exceeded the N1.693 trillion prorated estimate by 23.3 to the tune of N394 billion.
The non-oil revenue was driven by Companies and Incomes Tax (CIT) and Value Added Tax (VAT) remittances, customs revenue, federation account levies, share of electronic money transfer levies and the share of oil price royalty.
CIT and VAT collections were N1.08 trillion and N295.2 billion, representing 158 percent and 124.3 percent of their respective targets.
Customs collections (comprising import duties, excise, fees and special levies) exceeded the target by N15.42 billion, indicating 102 percent performance.
Other revenues amounted to N3.72 trillion, of which independent revenue was N1.32 trillion.
Oil production was 1.21 million barrels per day (mbpd) as against 1.6mbpd budgeted.
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