According to a statement by the Commissioner for Finance, Demola Banu, the State received a total sum of N1.815 billion from the federation account, representing a decrease of N55, 901, 721.84 from the N1.870 billion it received in January and almost half of the N3.4b it used to receive.

Giving a breakdown, Banu said the state government got a statutory revenue allocation (SRA) of N1, 139, 808, 900.04; VAT of N656, 252, 713.98 and exchange difference of N18, 952, 269.75.

The Finance Commissioner also disclosed the allocation received by the 16 local governments in the State for the month of February to include statutory revenue allocation (SRA) of N1, 079, 580, 589.49; VAT of N371, 575, 080.21 and exchange difference of N12, 500, 306.57, totaling N1, 463, 655, 976.27.

According to these figures, the sum total of February allocation for local governments shows a decrease of N41, 834, 877.95 from the N1, 505, 490, 854.22 they received in the preceding month.

The Breakdown of the January allocation received by the State government is as follows: statutory revenue allocation (SRA) of N1, 262, 662, 127.16; VAT of N584, 263, 869.06 and exchange difference of N23, 989, 609.39.

While a breakdown of the January allocation for local governments shows that they collected a statutory allocation of N1, 158, 853, 610.32; VAT of N330, 814, 470.38, and exchange difference of N15, 822, 773.52, amounting to N1, 505, 490, 854.22.

The Commissioner noted that the N1.815 billion allocation received by the state for the month of February is lower than the N2.4 billion it spends on monthly workers' wages and the significantly lower than the N3.4b the state used to receive. He

Banu, however, expressed optimism that the monthly allocation would increase as economic activities in the country pick up, while acknowledging that the state government's internal revenue drive has continued to yield positive outcomes.