According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Federal Government experienced a fiscal deficit of N930.8bn during January and February 2023. The CBN’s monthly economic report for February 2023 revealed that the overall fiscal deficit of the government increased in February due to a decline in retained revenue.The provisional fiscal deficit of the Federal Government of Nigeria increased by 22.8% to reach N513.05bn, as stated in the report. However, it remained 16.2% below the budget benchmark. The report also revealed that in January, the fiscal deficit stood at N417.75bn. Furthermore, the report highlighted a 32.3% decrease in the accretion into the federation account in February compared to the previous month, primarily due to a significant 60.2% decline in oil revenue. Consequently, this led to the expansion of the overall fiscal deficit by 22.8%, driven by a 16.4% rise in provisional Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) capital expenditure, coupled with a 7.7% decrease in FGN retained revenue.As of the end of December 2022, the total public debt in Nigeria stood at N46.25tn, equivalent to 23.2% of the country’s GDP. This figure remained below the national threshold of 40.0% set for public debt.
The report highlights that federation receipts in February amounted to N1.04tn, representing a 32.3% decrease compared to January. It was also 34.3% lower than the budgeted amount of N1.58tn. This decline was primarily attributed to a decrease in collections from petroleum profit tax and royalties. Specifically, oil revenue experienced a significant decline, reaching N308.07bn, which was 60.2% lower than the previous month.
Non-oil revenue stood at N730.21bn, falling below the preceding month’s level by 3.7% and the monthly target by 7.4%. The decrease was mainly due to a 10.5% decline in collections from corporate tax, driven by seasonal fluctuations associated with its payments.
