The Federal Government of Nigeria’s deficit spending rose by 8.0% year-on-year (YoY) to N1.07 trillion in January 2024, up from N980 billion in January 2023, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) monthly Economic Report for January 2024.
The deficit was also 18.6% higher than the amount provided for in the 2024 approved budget. However, there was a month-on-month (MoM) decline of 3.4% in deficit spending from N1.102 trillion in December 2023, attributed to reduced foreign debt service spending.
The CBN report highlighted that the lower deficit compared to the previous month reflected decreased spending on foreign debt service. Furthermore, low realisation in exchange gains and statutory allocations led to a 47% shortfall in the Federal Government’s January 2024 revenue target of N920 billion. The retained revenue fell by 2.2% YoY to N487.5 billion in January 2024 from N498.6 billion in December 2023, and MoM, it declined by 1.7% from N495.8 billion in December 2023.
The report also showed a 4.7% YoY increase in Federal Government expenditure to N1.55 trillion in January 2024 from N1.48 trillion in January 2023. MoM, FG expenditure declined by 2.6% from N1.59 trillion in December 2023. The decrease was primarily due to lower recurrent expenditure and non-maturing debt obligations. Recurrent expenditure accounted for 82.1% of total expenditure, with capital expenditure and transfers making up 12.8% and 5.1%, respectively.
Source: Vanguard