MATTERS ARISING: Why has FAAC January communiqué not been released?

The communique for the January meeting of the federation account allocation committee (FAAC) has not been released — eight days after Doris Uzoka-Anite, the minister of state for finance, announced the meeting held.

In a post on X on January 21, Uzoka-Anite shared pictures from the meeting.

“Chairing the first FAAC Meeting of 2026,” Uzoka-Anite said.

Chairing the first FAAC Meeting of 2026pic.twitter.com/n2IGvdkxeY

— Hon (Dr) Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite MD,CFA (@DrDorisAnite) January 21, 2026

The communique often consists of the amounts shared among the federal government, states, and local governments, from the revenue Nigeria generates monthly.

Under the current FAAC revenue-sharing formula, 52.68 percent goes to the federal government, 26.72 percent to the states, and 20.6 percent to local governments.

Additionally, oil-producing states receive an extra 13 percent as a derivation fund.

Every month, the FAAC allocates federal revenue to all 36 states and 774 local governments in Nigeria — with the details released at the conclusion of every meeting.

However, the January 2026 communiqué remains unavailable to the public, sparking questions about the rationale behind the delay.

Given that it details how revenue is shared among the three tiers of government, analysts have raised concerns over the delayed release of the communiqué.

‘DELAY MAY BE DUE TO DISAGREEMENT ON REVENUE ALLOCATION’

Ayokunle Olubunmi, head of financial institutions ratings at Agusto & Co., said the delay can stem from disagreements over certain aspects of revenue allocation or from plans to reconvene to discuss it further.

“Oftentimes, what might likely happen could be whether there are some areas that they didn’t agree on or some things that they need to reconcile. But it’s strange given as that may be,” he said.

Olubunmi said it is unusual that “they didn’t issue any communique out of it”.

The analyst said it would be better for the relevant authorities to inform the public about their intended actions.

Without such communication, Olubunmi said the public would not know whether the three tiers of government had shared the distributable revenue.

“Although there are some concerns now that it might delay salary payment, that’s if they have not shared it,” he said.

“But we don’t know if they’ve shared or when they plan to reconvene or probably they’ve already agreed on what three tiers of government will get, or they are still expecting one or two things.

“I don’t think it’s something that is good enough because it’s good for us to know the existing finances of the federation.”

However, Olubunmi said before the effects of the delay can be assessed, the relevant authorities must explain the reason for it and take steps to prevent it from happening again.

Also speaking on the issue, Ken Ife, a professor, told NAN that the delay in releasing details of the January alloaction can pose fiscal challenges.

Ife, a lead consultant on private sector development to the ECOWAS Commission, said “the postponement of revenue sharing creates a ripple effect, delaying the payment of salaries for workers and hindering payments to contractors, which, in turn, reduces productivity and overall economic activity at the state level”.

“This could lead to sub-national fiscal liquidity pressure as they heavily rely on these allocations to fund developmental projects and, in some cases, meet salary obligations,” he said.

Ife said the delay may be linked to disagreements over revenue remittances to the federation account, particularly those from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

“It could also be due to administrative bottlenecks in implementing new fiscal Reform Act 2025 and ongoing fiscal policies issues such as implementation of Supreme Court decision on Local Govt fiscal autonomy,” he said.

“The persistent inability of local governments to meet requirements for direct disbursements, such as failing to provide designated bank accounts, is forcing funds to be routed through state governments, and undermining the intended autonomy.

“There is also the non-conclusion of financial records on platforms like GIFMIS by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF).”

The expert also cited disputes between state governments and the NNPC over oil revenue remittances, particularly during periods of lower production or high operational costs.

Ife added that the delay could also result from the arbitrary waiver of significant NNPC financial obligations to the federation account without proper consultation and agreement with subnational governments.

On December 29, 2025, President Bola Tinubu authorised the cancellation of about $1.42 billion and N5.57 trillion of outstanding obligations owed by the NNPC to FAAC. (The Cable)