The Federal Government recorded N930.8bn fiscal deficit in January and February 2023, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The CBN stated in its monthly economic report for February 2023 that “The estimated overall fiscal deficit of the FGN expanded in February due to a drop in the retained revenue.
“At N513.05bn, the provisional fiscal deficit of the FGN rose by 22.8 per cent relative to the preceding month. However, it was 16.2 per cent below the budget benchmark.”
According to the report, the fiscal deficit was N417.75bn in January. The report said accretion into the federation account decreased by 32.3 per cent in February relative to the preceding month on account of the 60.2 per cent fall in oil revenue.
It added that the development led to the expansion of the overall fiscal deficit (provisional) by 22.8 per cent due to a 16.4 per cent surge in provisional FGN capital expenditure and a 7.7 per cent fall in FGN retained revenue.
Total public debt at N46.25tn (23.2 per cent of GDP) as of end-December 2022 remained within the 40.0 per cent national threshold.
