FAAC BONANZA: GOVERNORS FACE MOUNTING SCRUTINY AS THREE-YEAR PAYOUTS HIT N47 TRILLION

State governors across the 36 states of the federation are confronting heightened pressure from civil society organizations, policy analysts, and citizens to account for public funds disbursed as revenue by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) over the last three years.

The growing demand for financial transparency comes as official data reveals that cumulative allocations to the federal, state, and local government tiers surged to approximately N47 trillion between 2023 and 2025—exceeding the entire amount shared over the preceding six-year period.

An analysis of official revenue figures obtained from the Federal Ministry of Finance indicates that the three tiers of government shared N93.216 trillion between 2017 and 2025. Out of this sum, N47.25 trillion—representing 50.7 percent of the total nine-year payout—was disbursed in the three years following key macro-economic policy reforms introduced in May 2023, primarily the removal of petrol subsidy and the unification of foreign exchange rates.

The yearly breakdown shows that net FAAC distributions stood at N5.64tn in 2017, rising to N7.98tn in 2018, before dipping to N7.85tn in 2019 and N7.11tn in 2020 due to global oil market shifts and COVID-19 pandemic disruptions. Allocations rebounded to N8.12tn in 2021 and N9.18tn in 2022. Following the 2023 policy shifts, disbursements expanded rapidly to N10.09tn in 2023, jumped to N15.26tn in 2024, and reached a record N21.90tn in 2025.

State governments emerged as the primary beneficiaries of this fiscal expansion. Subnational receipts more than doubled within two years, escalating from N4.18tn in 2023 to N6.53tn in 2024, and reaching N8.93tn in 2025. Data indicates that in 2024, total allocations to state governments surpassed the Federal Government's allocation of N4.57tn, reflecting a significant structural shift in the distribution of federal revenue.

Despite the unprecedented growth in naira-denominated allocations, economic analysts point out that much of the financial surge was driven by currency devaluation. While FAAC payouts increased nearly threefold in naira terms, the equivalent dollar value dropped from roughly $26 billion in 2018 to approximately $14.4 billion in 2025, reflecting a 45 percent contraction in real purchasing power.

Civil society organizations and economic experts argue that the sharp rise in subnational funding has not yielded a proportional improvement in public welfare, living conditions, or critical services. Analysts noted that despite significant revenue inflows, citizens continue to face high inflation, elevated transportation costs, inadequate public healthcare, deteriorating municipal infrastructure, and persistent security challenges.

Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr. Muda Yusuf, stressed that accountability at the state and local levels must become the primary focus of economic governance. He cautioned against allocating public capital to high-maintenance, low-return projects while fundamental rural infrastructure, clean water access, and basic healthcare facilities remain underfunded.

Development economists further emphasized that because the Federal Government cannot legally dictate how states deploy their statutory allocations, active civic engagement, public tracking, and local non-governmental oversight are critical to ensuring that subnational revenues translate into tangible socio-economic development across all political wards.

For readers seeking updates on state allocation figures and national financial statistics, review detailed reports on the Punch Newspapers Portal or monitor official updates via the Federal Ministry of Finance Portal.