29 STATES SPENT TWO TRILLION NAIRA ON TRAVELS, OTHERS

•State govts borrowed N533bn, generated N1.92tn IGR, serviced debt with N658bn

A total of 29 State Governors spent N1.994tn on recurrent expenditures, including refreshments, sitting allowances, travelling, and utilities in the first nine months of 2024.

It was also gathered that the states obtained a N533.29bn loan, while it spent N658.93bn to service its debts owed to local, foreign, and multilateral creditors.

However, these States fell short in their revenue-generating targets, collecting a total sum of N1.92tn as internally generated revenue but fell short of the revenue target of N2.868tn, recording a deficit of N948.28bn. The recurrent data utilised in this report did not include personnel costs.

An analysis of the fiscal performance of each State, utilizing data from the Q1 to Q3 budget performance reports obtained from each State’s website, revealed a pressing need for stringent measures to prioritise fiscal discipline, especially amidst growing calls to reduce the costs of governance.

This comes despite a 40 per cent increase in the State’s statutory allocations from the Federation Account.

For the first three quarters of the year, investigators examined budget implementation data from twenty-nine States; data for six States was not available.

Borno, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Sokoto, and Ogun States were the ones without the latest data from January to September 2024.

Since the commencement of the current administration, State governments have enjoyed improved monthly allocation mainly due to the elimination of fuel subsidies and the unification of the foreign exchange market.

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative recently noted that the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee disbursed N3.473tn to the three tiers of government in the second quarter of 2024.This reflects an increase of N46.77bn (1.42 per cent) compared to the first quarter of 2024.

The Federal Government received N1.102tn, representing 33.35 per cent of the total allocation, while 36 States received N1.337tn (40.47 per cent), and the 774 local government councils shared N864.98bn (26.18 per cent).

A comparison with the previous quarter shows that the Federal Government’s allocation decreased by N41.44bn (3.76 per cent), while State governments saw an increase of N58.13bn (4.29 per cent), and local government councils experienced a rise of N30.82bn (3.57 per cent).

But this improved funding hasn’t translated to an improved standard of living for its citizens.

A breakdown showed that the 29-State government spent N1.994tn on its recurrent expenditure, which included refreshments for guests, sitting allowances to government officials, local and foreign travel expenses, and utility bills.

The general utilities include electricity, internet, telephone charges, water rates, and sewerage charges, among others.

Highest Spender

Lagos, Plateau, and Delta States spent the highest on their operating expenses, incurring a cost of N375.19bn, N144.87bn, and N121.54bn, respectively. This was followed by Ondo and Bauchi spending N107.34bn and N99.31bn.

Niger State, under the leadership of Governor Mohammed Umar Bago, was the highest borrower within the review period, obtaining loans worth N79.09bn. Katsina followed with a loan of N72.89bn. Oyo State also got a loan of N62.48bn.

In terms of revenue, Lagos State collected the highest of N912.17bn, followed by Rivers State with a collection of N269.18bn. Third on the list was Delta (N97.02bn).

A state-by-state analysis revealed that Abia State, led by Governor Alex Otti, spent N17.91bn on operating expenses and generated N22.15bn in revenue, falling short of the N32.14bn revenue target. Additionally, the State borrowed N3.901bn and allocated N10.91bn for debt servicing.

Adamawa State spent N41.45bn on recurrent expenditure, while it earned N9.16bn income out of its revenue of N22.24bn. This state borrowed N10bn and paid N22.68bn to service its debts.

Akwa-Ibom State recurrent spending reached N85.45bn in nine months, N43.98bn more than its generated revenue of N41.47bn in nine months. The State paid N34.47bn as debt service but didn’t borrow.

Anambra State generated more revenue (N28.296bn) than its recurrent spending of N12.70bn. It spent N4.56bn on debt service and didn’t record any borrowing.

Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year in advance

Source: The Punch Newspaper

Godwin Etakibuebu; a Veteran Journalist, wrote from Lagos.

Contact:

Website: www.godwintheguru.org

You Tube Channel: Godwin The  Guru

Twitter: @godwin_buebu

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/godwintheguru

Facebook: Godwin Etakibuebu

Facebook Page: Veteran Column

Telegram: @friendsoftheguru

WhatsApp: @friendsoftheguru

Phone: +234-906-887-0014 – short messages only.

You can also listen to this author [Godwin Etakibuebu] every Monday; 9:30 - 11am on Lagos Talk 91.3 FM live, in a weekly review of topical issues, presented by The News Guru [TNG].