FCT Area Councils share N2.38b revenue allocation

The six Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory recorded an increase of N281,174,986.71 (13.4 per cent) revenue allocation for the month of February 2013.
The area councils – Abaji, Abuja Municipal, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali – received revenue allocation of N2,380,208,667.17 from the Federation Account for February compared with the sum of N2,099,033,680.46 received for January 2013.
The acting Permanent Secretary, FCT, Alhaji Nuhu Ahmed, who disclosed this during the monthly FCT Area Councils Joint Account Allocation Committee meeting, attributed the increment to the improved inflow from Value Added Tax and the arrears of January Budget augmentation.
Ahmed, who represented the Chairperson of the FCT Area Councils Joint Account Allocation Committee and the FCT Minister of State, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, disclosed that N1.041 billion was received for the five per cent VAT in February as against N1.007 billion in the preceding month.
He gave the breakdown of the allocations from the Federation Account as: N731.26 million from Statutory Revenue Allocation, N56.77 million from Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme and N23.10 million being refund by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
Other allocations from the Federation Account were: N250.35 million being arrears of January 2013 Budget Augmentation and N277.09 million being differential between budget and actual.
Of the N2.38 billion revenue allocation, Ahmed stated that the JAAC transferred N894.43 million to the FCT Universal Basic Education Board for payment of the primary school teachers’ salaries in the area councils; N95.04 million to FCT Area Councils Pension Board, being 15 per cent pension fund as statutorily required; and N23.80 million to FCT Area Councils Service Commission, being one per cent training fund, also statutorily required
According to him, the net revenue allocation of N1.366 billion was distributed to the six Area Councils, with Abuja Municipal Area Council receiving the lion share of N319.58 million, as against the sum of N242.75 received in January 2013.
The FCT Area Councils Joint Account Allocation Committee also distributed N233.77 million to Gwagwalada Area Council, N218.94 million to Bwari Area Council, N205.91 million to Kuje Area Council, N194.79 million to Kwali Area Council and N193.92 million to Abaji Area Council.
Gwagwalada, Bwari, Kuje, Kwali and Abaji got net revenue allocations of N190.38 million, N198.28 million, N167.92 million, N155.29 million and N157.94 million, respectively.
On SURE-P funds, Abuja Municipal got highest allocation of N16.77 million, followed by Bwari (N9.28 million), Gwagwalada (N8.50 million), Kwali (N7.79 million), Kuje (N7.45 million) and Abaji (N6.96 million).
The JAAC meeting was attended by Kuje Area Council Chairman, Hon. Danladi Zhin; Bwari Area Council Chairman, Hon. Peter Ushafa; Gwagwalada Area Council Chairman, Hon. Zakari Angulu Dobi; Abuja Municipal Area Council Chairman, Hon. Micah Jiba; Abaji Area Council Chairman, Hon. Yahaya Muhammad, and Kwali Area Council Chairman, Hon. J.K. Shazin.
Others at the meeting were: Director, Admin & Finance, Area Council Services Secretariat, Alhaji Yusuf Tsaiyabu; Director, Admin and Finance, Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, Mr. John Obiahu; Director of Satellite Towns Development Agency, Alhaji Tukur Ibrahim Bakori; Auditor General for FCT Area Councils, Dr. Fred Omaka, and officials of the Treasury Department in FCT, among others.