Nigeria’s Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) shared ₦31.46 trillion in revenue among the three tiers of government between January and September 2026, exceeding the full-year collections recorded in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
The figure represents a significant increase in government revenue in nominal terms, although concerns remain over volatile monthly collections, rising deductions and weaker-than-budgeted mineral revenue.
The findings were contained in a report by Agora Policy titled Ten Insights from FAAC Disbursements for January–September 2026, published in October 2026 and reported by The PUNCH on October 29.
According to the report, the Federal Government received approximately ₦7.35 trillion from the nine-month distributions, while state governments received ₦7.01 trillion and local government councils received ₦4.92 trillion.
Oil-producing states also received ₦1.53 trillion under the 13% derivation principle. The derivation allocation is reported separately but also accrues to benefiting state governments.
The report showed that statutory revenue accounted for ₦24.25 trillion, representing 77.1% of gross Federation Account receipts, while Value Added Tax (VAT) contributed ₦7.21 trillion, or 22.9%.
However, only ₦20.36 trillion, representing 65% of gross revenue, was available for distribution before augmentation.
The remaining ₦11.10 trillion, or 35%, went into savings, interventions, refunds, transfers and collection costs.
Including a ₦450 billion augmentation, total distributions rose to ₦20.81 trillion during the nine-month period.
Agora Policy’s analysis showed that the ₦31.46 trillion gross revenue recorded between January and September 2026 was 240.8% higher than the ₦9.23 trillion generated in the whole of 2021.
It also exceeded the full-year figures of ₦12.34 trillion recorded in 2022, ₦16.28 trillion in 2023 and ₦28.74 trillion in 2024.
However, the nine-month figure remained below the ₦35.81 trillion collected in the whole of 2025, representing approximately 88% of last year’s total.
The report cautioned that the comparisons were based on nominal figures and did not account for inflation or changes in the purchasing power of the naira.
Revenue growth also appeared to be slowing. Gross FAAC revenue increased by ₦3.51 trillion, or 12.6%, from ₦27.95 trillion in the corresponding nine months of 2025 to ₦31.46 trillion in 2026.
Agora Policy noted that the increase was less than half the ₦8.97 trillion growth recorded in the corresponding period of 2024.
The report identified the foreign exchange and petrol subsidy reforms introduced in 2023 as possible explanations for part of the sharp increase in naira-denominated revenue in 2024.
It also suggested that tax reform implementation and higher oil prices associated with the conflict in Iran may have supported revenue in 2026, although aggregate figures alone could not establish the contribution of each factor.
The revenue figures also showed how much of the Federation Account’s gross receipts was removed before distribution to the three tiers of government.
The ₦11.10 trillion deducted during the nine-month period represents a substantial share of the money generated, raising questions about the composition of transfers, refunds, savings and collection costs.
The report also warned that mineral revenue remained significantly below budget, despite the increase in overall collections.
For state governments, which received ₦7.01 trillion during the period, the figures highlight the importance of predictable federal transfers in financing public services and development projects.
Agora Policy estimated that if the average monthly revenue recorded in the first nine months continued, full-year gross FAAC revenue could reach approximately ₦41.95 trillion in 2026.
However, the organisation described this as a simple annualisation rather than a forecast, warning that seasonal revenue patterns, crude oil prices and exchange rate movements could affect collections in the remaining months.
The findings suggest that while Nigeria’s revenue-sharing pool has expanded considerably in recent years, the sustainability of the increase will depend on more stable collections, stronger revenue generation and better management of deductions.
