By Stephen Simon
The Federal Government, states and local governments saved a combined ₦3.56tn from Federation Account revenue between January and September 2026, even as the Federal Government increased its borrowing to finance the country’s widening budget deficit.
The figure represents a 95 per cent increase from the ₦1.83tn recorded during the corresponding period of 2025, according to a report by Agora Policy.
The report, titled Ten Insights from FAAC Disbursements for January-September 2026, showed that savings and interventions accounted for ₦8.34tn of deductions from Federation Account revenue during the nine-month period.
Interventions accounted for ₦4.78tn, while savings stood at ₦3.56tn. Together, they represented 75.1 per cent of total deductions.
The development has raised questions about the country’s fiscal priorities, particularly as the Federal Government continues to rely heavily on borrowing to finance expenditure.
According to the report, the government’s borrowing target for 2026 was increased by ₦11.31tn, from ₦17.89tn to ₦29.20tn, while the budget deficit stood at ₦31.46tn.
Gross Federation Account revenue increased by 12.6 per cent to ₦31.46tn during the period, compared with ₦27.95tn recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
However, the report clarified that the ₦3.56tn savings were drawn from the Federation Account and should not be interpreted as money retained exclusively by the Federal Government.
