The Federation Account received a significant boost in the first three quarters of this year, with the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) reporting that a total of N2.359 trillion in outstanding revenue arrears was reconciled and paid to the federal government and subnational governments between January and September.

The committee’s detailed report for November 2025, seen by THISDAY, showed that the inflows sourced from crude sales, royalty arrears, domestic gas payments and other under-remitted revenues helped moderate pressure on monthly allocations amid continuing fiscal strain on the three tiers of government.

Organisations, which attended the November 17 meeting in Abuja, were Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), representatives of the states’ Commissioners of Finance and Accountants-General Forum, as well as representatives of Revenue Generating and Accounting Agencies.

According to the FAAC Sub-Committee, N370.43 billion was recovered and paid in September alone. This amount included $52.95 million in crude-related arrears remitted at an exchange rate of N1,474 to the dollar, along with royalty and domestic gas components from both Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, and Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

Specifically, the September inflow pushed the cumulative reconciliation total for the first nine months of the year to N2,359,628,451,600.66, the highest in recent FAAC reconciliation cycles.

Breakdowns presented in the report showed that reconciliation inflows varied month to month. In January, N367.37 billion was reconciled; it was N227.15 billion in February; N175.98 billion in March; N259.85 billion in April; N247.04 billion in May; N213.37 billion in June; N116.39 billion in July; N382 billion in August; and N370.43 billion in September, reflecting the irregular nature of the arrears and the speed of inter-agency verification.

Similarly, during the November deliberations, the alleged under-remittance of $42,373,896,555.00 by NNPC Limited, a claim earlier raised in a forensic review conducted by Periscope Consulting for the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, also came up.

But in its formal response to FAAC, NNPC maintained that it had fully accounted for all revenues due to the federation and insisted that no outstanding amount existed for the period under review.

Periscope Consulting, however, rejected NNPC’s position and the sub-committee directed a joint session between both parties to reconcile the disputed figures. Discussions on this issue remained ongoing, the document showed.

The document stated, “NNPCL submitted their response regarding $42,373,896,555.00 under remittance to the Federation Account as contained in the report of Periscope Consulting.

“Recall that Periscope Consulting was the Consultant engaged by the Governors Forum to examine NNPCL under remittance to the Federation Account. NNPCL responded that all revenues due to the Federation have been properly accounted for and no outstanding amounts for the period under review.

“Responding, Periscope Consulting disagreed with NNPCL position hence, the Sub-Committee directed that there should be a joint meeting with the two parties in order to close-out on the issue. This assignment is work in progress,” it stressed.

The report also reviewed NNPC’s utilisation of the statutory 30 per cent Frontier Exploration Fund (FEF) over a 16-year period, from 2008 to 2024. While NNPC submitted a consolidated account of expenditure across the various basins, the FAAC sub-committee said the submission lacked basin-specific spending details.

It, therefore, requested NNPC to tie each project to the amounts expended, describing the issue as work still in progress.

FAAC indicated, “The NNPCL had submitted the utilisation of frontier exploration fund from 2008-2024 covering both the Pre and Post PIA. However, the Sub-Committee observed that there were no specifics on expenditure incurred on the exploration activities carried out in each of the basins.

“The committee had written to NNPCL requesting it to tie each project carried out within the basins with amount expended. The sub-committee await NNPCL response. This assignment is still work in progress.”

In addition, the committee recorded outstanding payables of N2.032 trillion owed to NUPRC and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for the period June–December 2023. These were incorporated into a wider reconciliation being handled by Stakeholders Alignment Committee of the Federal Ministry of Finance, which was yet to submit a final report.

The analysis for September 2025 also highlighted the monthly performance of revenue-generating agencies. Combined inflows from NNPC, NUPRC, FIRS, and Nigeria Customs Service amounted to N2.128 trillion, which formed the distributable revenue for the month. FIRS remained the single largest contributor, accounting for more than 43 per cent of the inflows.

Despite the progress made, substantial unresolved balances remained. The November inter-agency reconciliation meeting identified new outstanding amounts totalling $68.98 million and N1.03 trillion still under review. They included items between NNPC and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), NUPRC and NNPC, and FIRS and NNPC.

The committee also provided updates on balances across multiple special reserve accounts, including N132.05 billion in Development of Natural Resources Account, N80.91 billion in Stabilisation Fund, N51.83bn in Solid Minerals Account, and N365.26 billion in Non-Oil Excess Revenue Account. Other balances were recorded in accounts for oil-theft prevention, exchange gains and domestic excess crude proceeds.

Another major item reviewed was the deductions under the Road Infrastructure Tax Credit Scheme (RITCS). According to the committee, a combined $577.6 million and N822.3 billion were utilised for tax credit deductions between February 2024 and September 2025.

Seven companies, including Dangote Cement, NNPC, NLNG, and BUA International were formally contacted to clarify their respective project spending under the scheme. But only three firms responded as of November, with the sub-committee awaiting confirmations from FIRS and additional submissions from the remaining companies.

The FAAC document stated, “The sub-committee wrote to the Federal Ministries of Finance and Works, the FIRS, and participating companies in the scheme requesting for information regarding the level of involvement in the scheme, the amount spent and the level of the ongoing projects from 2019 to 2025.

“The companies written to were as follows: Bua International Ltd; Dangote Cement Company Ltd; NNPC; Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company Ltd; Mainstream Energy Solutions; GZ Industries Ltd and MTN Nigeria Ltd.

“The sub-committee had received responses from three of these participating companies which was forwarded to FIRS for confirmation. The Ad-hoc Committee is still expecting the remaining companies’ response in order to conclude the assignment and report back. This assignment is still work in progress.

“The outstanding revenue arrears reconciled with the Revenue Generating Agencies and paid to the Federation Account for September 2025 revenue was $52,951,569.21 equivalent to N370,430,043,080.80. The sub-committee would like to inform members that from January to September, 2025, the outstanding arrears reconciled and paid stood at N2,359,628,451,600.66.

“The total outstanding amount undergoing reconciliation due to the Federation Account from the reconciliation meeting held with the Revenue Generating Agencies in November, 2025 was $68,983,379.93 and N1,030,423,011,930.59.” (THISDAY)

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