Federation Account swells to ₦35 trillion as reforms boost revenue

By Alex Enebeli

Inflows into Nigeria’s Federation Account rose sharply to over ₦35 trillion in 2025, up from ₦27 trillion in 2024, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi has disclosed.

Ogunjimi made this known through the Director of Federation Account, Rita Okolie, at the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) Post-Mortem Sub-Committee Retreat held on Monday in Enugu.

The retreat, themed “Assessing Fiscal and Sectorial Policies for Closing Revenue Leakage in the Federation Account”, brought together key fiscal stakeholders, including officials of the Ministries of Finance, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigeria Customs Service, the Debt Management Office and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, among others.

Ogunjimi attributed the significant revenue growth to the impact of fiscal reforms introduced by the administration of Bola Tinubu, noting that the increase signalled progress toward building a more resilient economy less exposed to oil price volatility.

According to him, the Federation Account remains the fiscal backbone of Nigeria’s federal system, serving as the central pool through which national revenues are mobilised and distributed among the federal, state and local governments.

He, however, warned that persistent revenue shortfalls, volatility in oil receipts, weak non-oil revenue performance and systemic leakages continued to undermine the efficiency and credibility of the account.

“The retreat is timely, coming at a period when Nigeria’s fiscal resilience, revenue integrity and institutional accountability are more critical than ever,” he said.

Ogunjimi explained that revenue leakages were concrete and measurable losses occurring at three critical stages — collection, remittance and expenditure oversight.

“Every naira lost represents a school not built, a road left unfinished or a vital public service delayed,” he added.

Also speaking, the Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka-Anite, through the Director of Home Finance, Ali Mohammed, assured participants of the government’s commitment to fairness, equity and transparency in managing the Federation Account.

She expressed confidence that deliberations at the retreat would strengthen mechanisms for improved revenue management and ensure greater public benefit.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Mohammed Shehu, represented by the Vice-Chairman of the FAAC Post-Mortem Sub-Committee, Eyo-Nsa Whiley, observed that distributable revenues were increasingly shaped by fiscal and sectoral policies, legislative reforms and financing arrangements.

He noted that while such policies were often well-intentioned, some had resulted in unintended leakages, deductions and structural constraints that reduced net inflows and weakened transparency.

In a goodwill message, Peter Mbah, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Chidiebere Onyia, said fiscal discipline and efficient resource management remained central to Enugu State’s development agenda.

He expressed confidence that the retreat’s recommendations would strengthen revenue mobilisation, enhance compliance and restore public trust in fiscal institutions.

In his welcome address, Chairman of the FAAC Post-Mortem Sub-Committee, Abdulaziz Idris, said the retreat underscored the committee’s mandate to conduct in-depth analyses of revenue-generating agencies’ reports with a view to boosting inflows into the Federation Account.

He thanked the Enugu State Government for hosting the retreat, expressing optimism that the discussions would yield outcomes beneficial to Nigeria’s fiscal stability.