BudgIT: FG Spends over three times revenue generated in 2023, N13.5tn deficit

BudgIT, a civic-tech non-profit, has reported that the federal government’s expenditure in 2023 exceeded its revenue by more than three times.

According to BudgIT’s post on X, the government earned N5.99 trillion in revenue but spent N19.50 trillion, resulting in a deficit of N13.50 trillion—225% of its total revenue. This information is based on the 2023 fiscal accounts report from the accountant general of the federation.

BudgIT detailed that N3.80 trillion came from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), while the government’s share of independent revenue was N1.98 trillion.

Contributions from the federation account totaled N2.39 trillion, with exchange rate differences adding N715.75 billion and value-added tax (VAT) contributing N441.87 billion.

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Debt servicing was the largest single expense, accounting for 43.9% of the budget at N8.56 trillion. Non-debt spending constituted 27.8% at N5.42 trillion, and capital expenditure was 23% at N4.49 trillion.

BudgIT highlighted that a significant portion of government spending went toward servicing debt, which surpassed revenue generation.

The organisation noted that this financial mismanagement has led the government further from fiscal responsibility, as evidenced by the N13.50 trillion deficit. Additionally, the budget office reported that N5.78 trillion was spent on debt servicing in the first nine months of 2023.