A renowned economist, Prof. Ken Ife, says the delay in releasing the communiqué of the January meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) can pose fiscal challenges.
Ife, the Lead Consultant on Private Sector Development to the ECOWAS Commission, said this in an interview with our Correspondent in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said since the 2026 maiden FAAC meeting held on Jan. 20, no communiqué has been released from the meeting.
According to Ife, the implications of the delay in releasing the communiqué can be far reaching to Federal, State and Local governments.
“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.
He said that the delay in releasing the communiqué could be due to disagreements over revenue remittances to the federation account, particularly from the NNPC.
“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
“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),” he said.
The expert also cited disputes on revenue remittance between state governments and the NNPC regarding oil revenue, particularly during times of lower oil production or high operational costs.
He said that the delay could also be as a result of arbitrary waiver of the huge NNPC financial liabilities to federation account without due consultation and agreement with sub-nationals.
