Yemisi Izuora
Lower oil prices and sabotage of oil infrastructures has prompted Nigeria’s distributable government revenues to collapse to 429.127 billion naira in February from 465.19 billion naira in January.
Distributable revenue is government income that is shared at various levels of state including the federal government, state governments and local government councils.
Average oil prices fell to $44.74 from $49.57 per barrel in February, the statement said.
“Production diminished during the period due largely to leakages in the pipelines arising from sabotage,” it added.
OPEC member Nigeria, which last year entered its first recession in a quarter of a century, relies on crude oil sales for two-thirds of its government revenue but has been hit hard by the fall in global crude prices since mid-2014.
Militants have carried out attacks on oil and gas facilities in the southern Niger Delta energy hub for a year, cutting oil production – which stood at 2.1 million barrels per day at the start of 2016 – by as much as a third, though output has since mostly recovered.
Attacks have halted in recent months with talks between the government and Delta community leaders to address the grievances of militants, who want the oil hub to receive a greater share of the country’s energy wealth.