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The Federal Government’s expenditure exceeded revenue by N1.43tn in the first three months of 2023, according to figures obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The CBN revealed in its economic report for the third quarter of 2023 obtained by The PUNCH on Friday that this was 9.6 per cent higher than the last quarter of 2022 figure.
It stated, “The fiscal operations of the FGN in 2023, Q1, resulted in a deficit. At N1.43tn, the provisional fiscal deficit of the FGN was 9.6 per cent higher than the level in the preceding quarter but 22.1 per cent below the target.”
According to the report, the fiscal performance in 2023, Q1 was impaired by low oil revenue realisation. Consequently, the retained revenue of the FGN fell by 10.7 per cent, relative to 2022, Q4, and was 46.1 per cent below the quarterly target.
FGN’s aggregate expenditure also declined by 1.3 and 36.0 per cent, relative to the preceding quarter and the quarterly target, respectively.
Peoplesmind