Federation Account: Niger records N10bn shortfall from receipts

From Yakubu Mustapha, Minna

The Commissioner of Planning and Deputy Chairman Niger state Planning Commission, Alhaji Yahaya Dansalau has disclosed that the state recorded a shortfall of N10bn from receipt from the federation account for the first half of this year 2014.

Dansalau made this known in a press briefing at government house yesterday saying that statutory allocation for the first half of the year contributed a total of N24.502bn, representing 70.30% as against the target of N34.849bn. The amount was also 58.53% of the total expected revenue for the period.

The Commissioner noted that the 2014 budget of the state has performed brilliantly

in the first half of the year as a result of prudent management of available resources.

He also disclosed that internally generated revenue IGR raked in N2.58bn or 81% of the expected IGR for the first half of the year with capital receipts which performed ‘brilliantly’ recorded a performance of 158% and contributed 20.83% of funds inflow.

The Commissioner said the Sure-P programme gave the state N8.7bn with the Value Added Tax VAT of N4.5bn.

With an expected capital expenditure of N51.562bn for the year, the pro-rata expected capital expenditure for the period under review stood at N25.781bn with only N19.207bn released.

He explained that the economic, regional, social, general administration and science and technology accounted for releases in the capital expenditure sector.

Alhaji Yahaya Dansalau said the success recorded by the budget was as a result of receipts from the capital market, stressing that monies collected from the market are being repaid with the first acquisition of N6bn completely paid off while the repayment of the second amount of N9bn was already being repaid.

The Commissioner said that the government has been able to successfully implement the budget because the state Governor, Dr Muazu Babangida Aliyu made it a policy that the government should pay its counterpart fund in all projects being executed by donor agencies.

He said that government has also been “doing everything possible to attract external funding to finance projects but ruled out the possibility of the administration collecting any loan this year, though he said going to the capital market for financial support is not an aberration.

Yahaya Dansalau insisted that the only way the government can meet its obligation is to embark on vigorous internally generated drive adding that as a result ‘everybody should pay his tax”.

He however prayed that ‘the issues at the federal level will be brighter’ in apparent reference to the shortfall in amount accruable to the country in the federation account.