By Omoh Gabriel, Business Editor
The activities of Niger Delta militia did not lead to any drop in revenue to the federation account in the Month of May as speculated by some government functionaries. Rather it improved the income of government through higher oil earnings though there was drop in the volume of crude oil export.
This fac was contained in the communique issued by the Technical Sub-Committee of the Federation Account Committee signed by the Accountant General of the federation I. H. Dankwambo.
The Federation account the Committee said in the month of May had a total of N273.152billion. This is N39.544billion higher than the figure that accrued to the federation account in April at the height of the hostages crises in the Niger Delta.
According to the Committee “The total funds declared and recommended for distribution for the month of May is N273.152billion, as against N233.608billion for the prior month, thus showing an increase of N39.544 billion or 16.93 per cent. The increase in revenue generated by the NNPC was attributed to increase in unit price of crude oil in the international market, though there was drop in volume of crude oil exported due to the restive situation in the Niger-Delta Area. While the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS attributed the increase in revenue generated to the up ward revision of estimate by Mobil Producing Company as well as the payment of the 13th month instalment by ELF, however, the Nigerian Custom Service collection was lower than the monthly budgeted figure”.
Figures available in the office of the account general of the federation show that while in May 2006, a total of N402.454billion accrued to the federation account administered by the federation account allocation committee from sundry minerals and non mineral revenue sources the sum of N233.608billion was the amount that was available to the federation account in the month of April after all deductions were made.
A break down of the May income show that sundry mineral revenue amounted to N359.245billion while non oil revenue amounted to N43.2009billion.
According to a communique issued by the Technical sub committee of the federation account allocation committee of the N402.454billion, N143.126billion was transferred to excess crude and petroleum profit tax and royalty account, N1.108billion was charged on the account by the federal inland revenue service as four per cent cost of collection, another charge of N1.085billiont was made on the federation account for the Month of May being seven per cent cost of collection by the Custom Service. This brought the amount available for the three tiers of government in the country to N257.134billion for the month of May.
According to the Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC of the amount available for distribution for the month, the federal government took the lion share of N120.657billion or 52.68 per cent, state governments got N61.199billion or 26.72 per cent while local government councils received a total of N47.181billion or 20.6 representing 20.6 per cent of the total.
According to the federation account allocation committee in addition to the above figures “for the month of May, 2006, total available revenue from Value Added Tax, VAT was N16.686billion as against N11.783billion distributed in the previous month, thus showing an increase of N4.903billion”.
The federation account committee disclosed that after the sum of N667.434million was charged on the VAT revenue a total of N16.018billion was available for further distribution to the three tiers of government. The federal government it stated got N2.402billion from Value Added tax,15 per cent of the total and N705.961 million higher than what it got from the same source in April. State governments on their part got 50 per cent share amounting N8.009billion and N2.353billio n higher than what they got in April.
On the other hand the committee disclosed that Local governments got 35 per cent share from VAT revenue amounting to N5.606 billion which is N1.647billion higher than the N3.959billion they got in the month of April.
File: federation account 24/06/06
