SolaceBase Data: Without FAAC, Katsina, Jigawa would have been unable to pay salaries in Q1, 2024

By solacebase.com On May 16, 2024

FAAC, Katsina, Jigawa, salaries , — SolaceBase Data: Without FAAC, Katsina, Jigawa would have been unable to pay salaries in Q1, 2024

By Aminu Abubakar

SolaceBase data review has shown that Jigawa State, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, received the sum of N29.2 billion as FAAC allocation between December 2023 and February 2024.

In the same vein, Katsina state received N29.5 billion as FAAC allocation in the period under review.

For Jigawa, the highest allocation for the period under review was obtained in January 2024, when the sum of N10.2 billion was received, while the lowest was in December with N9.2 billion.

Katsina state also got its highest allocation in January with the sum of N10.5 billion, while the lowest was in December when N9.3 billion was obtained.

Heavy Reliance on FAAC Allocation as IGR Continues Low Performance

There have been concerns over the reliance of northern states on federal allocation, a situation further pronounced by the revenue generated by states under review in this report.

For instance, Katsina generated only N6.3 billion, meaning it got the equivalent of five times its IGR as FAAC allocation.

The case is worsened by the revenue generated by Jigawa which stood at N1.3 billion. This would mean that it received 29 times its IGR as federal allocation, for the first quarter of 2024, as per budget performance reports.

Why IGR of States is Worrying

Assuming there was no FAAC allocation, these are items that Katsina state would have been unable to do.

Katsina state would have been unable to meet its personnel expenditure which stood at N10 billion for the first quarter, 2024 Simply put, the state would have been unable to pay salaries.

The total expenditure of N16 billion incurred by the state Ministry of Works, housing and Transport, would have been impossible in the first quarter, leaving a potential gap for development.

The N3.3 billion expended on basic and secondary education may have been impacted, given that there may be no assurance of the state spending 50% of its internally generated revenue on basic and secondary education.

Jigawa state would also have been unable to pay salaries, given that it spent N15 billion on personnel expenditures in the first quarter of 2024 but only made N1.3 billion.

It would have been impossible for the state to also spend on developmental projects given that it spent N14 billion on capital needs in the first quarter of 2024.

Experts have warned that over-reliance on federal government revenue may be harmful to state’s development.