The Budget Office of the Federation (BoF) has reported that the Federal Government generated a total revenue of ₦20.98 trillion in 2024, marking a 68.11% increase from ₦12.48 trillion recorded in 2023.
According to the Fourth Quarter 2024 Budget Implementation Report, the revenue growth occurred alongside a ₦13.51 trillion fiscal deficit, which exceeded government projections and pushed the deficit-to-GDP ratio above the 3% legal threshold set by the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) 2007.
Despite the overall revenue growth, the report noted that performance remained below the ₦24.89 trillion target in the 2024 budget. Gross non-oil revenue rose to ₦16.09 trillion, surpassing the ₦10.81 trillion annual estimate by ₦5.29 trillion, with major contributions from Company Income Tax (CIT), Value Added Tax (VAT), Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and Customs receipts.
In contrast, gross oil revenue dropped to ₦15.07 trillion, representing a ₦4.93 trillion (24.65%) shortfall from the ₦19.99 trillion budget projection. However, it was still higher than the ₦8.35 trillion recorded in 2023, reflecting an 80.83% increase year-on-year. Actual net oil revenue stood at ₦3.34 trillion, falling 21.12% below the quarterly estimate of ₦4.24 trillion.
The report further showed that royalties from oil and gas, concessional rentals, and miscellaneous income such as pipeline fees all surpassed quarterly estimates. Additionally, the government earned ₦108.54 billion from gas flare penalties and ₦1.22 trillion from exchange gains, both of which had no prior budget projections.
Fiscal pressures intensified in the fourth quarter, as the government recorded a ₦7.17 trillion deficit, which was 212.68% higher than the prorated quarterly projection of ₦2.29 trillion.
Overall, the ₦13.51 trillion deficit represented 3.62% of GDP, exceeding the FRA’s 3% ceiling. The deficit was financed through ₦1.98 trillion in multilateral and bilateral project-tied loans, ₦6.06 trillion in domestic borrowing, ₦3.37 trillion in foreign borrowing, and ₦3.19 trillion in budget support.
