Yemisi Izuora
The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, has revealed that state governments shared the sum of N2.53 trillion gross allocation in 2019.
The data showed that revenue crisis faced in 2019 affected the federal allocation, as the allocated fund to states for the period under review dropped by N49.56 billion.
Specifically, federal allocation disbursed to states dropped to N2.53 trillion in 2019, from N2.58 trillion allocated within the period in 2018.
According to the breakdown in 2019, the top 10 states that received the largest portion of the federal allocation were Delta, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Lagos, Bayelsa, Kano, Kaduna, Edo, Katsina and Imo. Meanwhile, major oil-producing states suffered decline in the allocation.
Delta State remains the biggest recipient of federal allocation with a total sum of N214.4 billion. But the allocation to the state dropped by N1.05 billion when compared to that (N215.4 billion) received in 2018.
Akwa Ibom with the position received a total sum of N169.79 billion gross allocation within the period. Also, allocation to Akwa Ibom dropped by N27.8 billion when compared to 2018.
Rivers ranks third on the list with a gross allocation of N154.5 billion, a N15.3 billion decline from the N169.8 billion received in 2018.
Lagos State witnessed a rise in federal allocation received, from N143.9 billion in 2018 to N152.4 billion.
Meanwhile, another oil-producing state, Bayelsa, recorded a drop in gross allocation to N143.8 billion in 2019 against 157.4 billion in the corresponding period of 2018.
Other states among the top 10 recipients are Kano (N82.3 billion), Kaduna (N66.9 billion), Edo (N66.5 billion), Katsina (62.5 billion) and Imo (62.1 billion).