During the first quarter of 2023, the Federal Government of Nigeria’s spending surpassed its revenue by N1.43tn, as reported by the Central Bank of Nigeria. This deficit was 9.6% higher than the previous quarter in 2022.
The CBN’s economic report for the third quarter of 2023, as obtained by The PUNCH, highlighted that this fiscal deficit was 22.1% lower than the targeted deficit.
The report attributed this fiscal performance to a decrease in oil revenue, resulting in a 10.7% reduction in retained revenue compared to the previous quarter in 2022 and a 46.1% shortfall compared to the quarterly target.
Additionally, the Federal Government’s total expenditure decreased by 1.3% compared to the preceding quarter and a significant 36.0% below the quarterly target.
Overall, the Federal Government’s deficit widened compared to the fourth quarter of 2022 but narrowed by 22.1% concerning the proportional budget.
As of the end of December 2022, the consolidated public debt stood at N46.25tn, equivalent to 22.8% of the GDP.
The report also noted that gross federation revenue in the first quarter of 2023 amounted to N3.48tn, falling short of the levels in the fourth quarter of 2022 by 0.4% and the budget benchmark by 26.6%.
Non-oil revenue continued to be the primary source of government revenue, accounting for 61.4%, while oil receipts constituted 38.6% of the total.
Oil revenue declined by 3.0% and 43.5% compared to the fourth quarter of 2022 and the quarterly target, respectively.
This drop was attributed to revenue shortfalls from petroleum profit tax and royalties due to lower domestic crude production.
Conversely, non-oil receipts improved slightly by 1.2% compared to the preceding quarter but remained 9.6% below the quarterly target of N2.37tn.
