The three tiers of government are facing an
imminent cash squeeze because revenue
generating agencies have yet to remit funds into
the Federation Account for sharing, about a week
behind schedule.
Sources told Daily Trust in Abuja over the weekend
that the Federation Account still had zero balance
as at Friday, putting on hold the monthly
allocations to the Federal, state and local
governments.
The fund-sharing meetings of the Federation
Account Allocation Committee usually hold by the
second week of every month, chaired by the
Minister of State for Finance, to disburse funds for
the previous month.
Salaries of public sector workers at all levels are
paid after these allocations, which also constitute
the largest source of funds for government
projects.
Sources said that the FAAC meeting, which was
supposed to have held last week, could not hold
because the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation, Federal Inland Revenue Service and
the Nigerian Customs Service did not remit
revenues for the month of February into the
Federation Account.
“As I am talking to you now nobody knows when
FAAC would hold because there is no money in
the Federation Account. NNPC and other revenue
collection agencies are yet to remit into the
account,” one of the sources said.
Last month, the allocation for the month of
January was held February 20, with the delay
being attributed to the petrol subsidy strike in
January. Funds for the month of December were
shared by mid-January.
But by last Friday, 16 days into this month, no
monies were available for sharing for the month
of February, sources said.
Last year, the monthly FAAC meeting was
postponed several times because of NNPC’s N450
billion indebtedness to the Federation Account.
The corporation later agreed to pay the debt in
instalments.
When Daily Trust attempted to contact Minister of
State for Finance Yerima Ngama for comments
yesterday, he did not answer calls to his mobile
phone and did not respond to the text message
sent to him.
But the NNPC, which provides funds from crude
oil sales, said yesterday there was no cause for
alarm.
The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs
Division of the NNPC, Dr. Levi Ajuonuma, said the
delay was normal and that there would be money
for sharing.
Speaking to Daily Trust by telephone yesterday,
Ajuonuma said that this was not the first time that
such a scenario would happen, adding that
nobody should panic.
“Everything would be fine. We are part of the
global economy and is it not when we sell that we
get money? There is no reason to panic. NNPC is
equal to the task to ensure that Nigeria move on
in this present dispensation,” he said.
But he did not say specifically when the funds
would be remitted for sharing.
Last month, the Federal, states and local
governments shared N614 billion for the month of
January as against N616.93 shared in December,
2011.

dailytrust.com.ng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=157405:no-funds-to-share-for-fg-states-nnpc-others-fail-to-remit-revenues&catid=2:lead-stories&Itemid=8

lol, some ppl are greater than the natn atlarge