FAAC N47.25tn Windfall: Nigerians demand accountability

Nigerians have mounted pressure on state governors to account for how they have spent increased allocations from the Federation Account, following the disclosure that the three tiers of government shared about N47.25tn between 2023 and 2025.
The figure represents more than half of the N93.13tn distributed through the Federation Account between 2017 and 2025, according to data obtained from the Federal Ministry of Finance.
The sharp increase followed the removal of petrol subsidy, foreign exchange reforms and efforts to improve revenue mobilisation under the Federal Government’s economic reforms introduced in 2023.
However, policy analysts and civil society groups have questioned why the increase in public revenue has not translated into corresponding improvements in the living conditions of Nigerians, amid rising living costs, unemployment, poverty, insecurity and inadequate public services.
The data showed that annual FAAC distributions rose from N5.64tn in 2017 to a record N21.90tn in 2025, representing an increase of about 288 per cent.
FAAC allocations stood at N5.64tn in 2017, N7.98tn in 2018, N7.85tn in 2019, N7.11tn in 2020, N8.12tn in 2021 and N9.18tn in 2022.
Following the reforms, allocations rose to N10.09tn in 2023, N15.26tn in 2024 and N21.90tn in 2025.
The N47.25tn shared between 2023 and 2025 was higher than the N45.88tn distributed during the preceding six years.
The Federal Ministry of Finance said the higher allocations had increased the resources available to states and local governments to meet salaries, pensions, infrastructure and other responsibilities.
It said states received about N9.17tn in additional allocations between June 2023 and December 2025, while local governments received about N6.66tn in additional allocations during the same period.
Further figures showed that states received N4.179tn in 2023, N6.533tn in 2024 and N8.934tn in 2025, bringing their three-year total to about N19.65tn.
Local governments received N2.601tn in 2023, N3.774tn in 2024 and N5.351tn in 2025, totalling about N11.73tn.
The Federal Government received N3.749tn in 2023, N4.570tn in 2024 and N7.024tn in 2025.
Revenue surge raises accountability concerns
Analysts said the increase in FAAC revenue should have produced more visible improvements in roads, healthcare, education, water supply, agriculture, transportation and employment.
Policy analyst Adebayo Abubakar said some governments appeared to favour conspicuous projects while basic services received inadequate attention.
Another analyst, Olayemi Adebanjo, said the increased revenue should have resulted in stronger interventions in affordable transportation, healthcare, education, agriculture and job creation.
Festus Oyabambi said rising government revenues alongside worsening hardship would raise questions about how public funds were being deployed.
He said the real test of the post-subsidy era should be whether Nigerians could feel tangible improvements in their lives.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr Muda Yusuf, also called for greater transparency in the management of state revenues.
Yusuf criticised spending on projects that could become a burden on government, arguing that funds should instead be channelled into water, roads and other infrastructure capable of improving economic activities and citizens’ welfare.
He said citizens must be empowered to scrutinise how state and local governments spend their allocations because the Federal Government has limited powers over funds accruing to the subnational governments.
Development economist Aliyu Ilias similarly urged states to be transparent about the utilisation of increased revenues, stressing that citizens and civil society organisations should monitor government spending.
He said the increase in revenue following the removal of petrol subsidy had placed greater responsibility on governors to demonstrate its impact on the lives of citizens.
Meanwhile, the figures also showed that the apparent increase in FAAC revenue should be viewed against the depreciation of the naira.
Although the allocation rose from N7.98tn in 2018 to N21.90tn in 2025, its estimated dollar value fell from about $26bn to $14.4bn over the period.
The development suggests that the surge in naira-denominated FAAC allocations was driven not only by higher revenue generation but also by the weaker naira, which translated dollar-denominated oil and other foreign exchange earnings into larger naira amounts.
With states and local governments now receiving substantially higher revenues, analysts said the focus must shift from the size of FAAC allocations to how effectively the funds are used to improve the lives of Nigerians.