September 13,2022

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed that the federal government spent N2.78 trillion more than its revenue in the first five months of 2022.

The apex bank said this in its economic reports for the second quarter and May 2022

The high expenditure means the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is spending beyond its means

According to a CBN report, the federal government, between January and May, recorded a retained revenue of N1.94 trillion.

A huge difference when compared to aggregate expenditure within the same period of N4.73 trillion. Leaving a fiscal balance of N2.78 trillion.

The breakdown shows that in the first quarter, the fiscal deficit stood at N1.61 trillion.

Giving an explanation for the first quarter performance CBN report said: “During the quarter, the longstanding revenue challenge was evident, as the outcome in the quarter was 57.6 per cent short of projection in the prorated quarterly budget,” the report noted.

For April and May, where the fiscal deficit was N643.09 and N524.25 billion, respectively, CBN said that provisional federally collected revenue dropped due to lower non-oil receipts.

The report reads: “The retained revenue of the FGN in May fell, following lower allocations from the Federation and VAT Pool accounts

At N387.93 billion, the provisional retained revenue of the FGN in May declined by 7.2 per cent and 56.7 per cent, relative to April and the budget, respectively. Shortfalls in earnings at the federation level affected FGN receipts in the review period.”