The Central Bank of Nigeria has disclosed that the Federal Government encountered a fiscal deficit of N930.8bn in January and February of 2023. In its monthly economic report for February, the CBN explained that the widening of the fiscal deficit was primarily due to a decrease in retained revenue. The report highlights the financial challenges faced by the government during that period.The Central Bank of Nigeria’s report reveals that the Federal Government’s provisional fiscal deficit reached N513.05bn, representing a 22.8% increase compared to the previous month. However, it remained 16.2% below the budget benchmark. In January, the fiscal deficit stood at N417.75bn.

The report further explains that the federation account experienced a decrease in accretion by 32.3% in February compared to the previous month, primarily attributed to a significant 60.2% decline in oil revenue. Consequently, this contributed to the expansion of the overall fiscal deficit (provisional) by 22.8%. The increase was driven by a notable 16.4% surge in provisional Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) capital expenditure and a 7.7% decline in FGN retained revenue.By the conclusion of December 2022, Nigeria’s total public debt reached N46.25tn, accounting for 23.2% of the nation’s GDP. This percentage remains below the established national threshold of 40.0% for public debt, indicating that the country’s debt level is within an acceptable range.According to the report, federation receipts in February were recorded at N1.04tn, representing a decline of 32.3% compared to January and a shortfall of 34.3% relative to the budgeted amount of N1.58tn. The decrease in receipts was primarily attributed to lower collections from petroleum profit tax and royalties, with oil revenue experiencing a significant 60.2% decline.

Non-oil revenue stood at N730.21bn in February, falling short of the preceding month’s level by 3.7% and the monthly target by 7.4%. The decline was mainly driven by a 10.5% decrease in collections from corporate tax, which was attributed to the seasonality associated with its payments.