Cost of servicing debt surpassed the federal government’s retained revenue by N310 billion in the first four months of 2022.
The federal government said this in its 2022 fiscal performance report for four months released on Thursday.
According to the report, the federal government’s total revenue for the period was N1.63 trillion, while debt service gulped N1.94 trillion.
While giving updates on the budget performance in Abuja, Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, said urgent action is urgently required to address revenue underperformance and expenditure efficiency at national and sub-national levels.
“The aggregate expenditure for 2022 is estimated at N17.32 trillion, with a prorata spending target of N5.77 at end of April,” the report reads.
“The actual spending as of April 31st (sic) was N4.72 trillion. Of this amount, N1.94 trillion was for debt service, and N1.26 trillion was for personnel costs, including pensions.
CIT and VAT collections were N298.83 billion and N102.97 billion, representing 99 percent and 98 percent of their respective targets,” the report added.
“Customs collections (made up of import duties, excise and fees, as well as federation account special levies) trailed target by N76.77 billion (25.42 percent).
“Other revenues amounted to N664.64 billion, of which independent revenue was N394.09 billion.”
