According to information from the Budget Office of the Federation, the Federal Government has experienced a revenue shortfall of N14. 28 trillion during the tenure of President Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd). The information came from the reports on how the budget was implemented for the years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.
The Federal Government anticipated making N43. 05 trillion in revenue during the period under review, but only made N28.77 trillion (66.83 per cent of expected revenue). The Federal Government expected to earn N3.86 trillion in 2016, but it only collected N2.95 trillion. The government’s inability to generate sufficient revenue has been a source of concern for the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed.
Nigeria’s primary source of income is oil, and in recent times, this revenue source has been impacted by low production and subsidy payment. From January to July 2022, Nigeria’s oil production slumped by 28 million barrels. “The CBN’s inflation target of six–nine percent, which has not been achieved since 2016, remains unlikely to be met in the near term.
“Even though the Federal Government has been trying to increase its non-oil revenue, the World Bank expects revenue to decline as a share of GDP for 2022.It said, “Non-oil revenues remained broadly steady as a share of GDP in 2022 through August. According to the Washington-based bank, the projections are overoptimistic.