The Federal Government recorded a fiscal deficit of N405.28bn in August, the Central Bank of Nigeria said in its economic report. It said the government’s aggregate expenditure was N781.61bn while retained revenue stood at N376.33bn. The report said independent revenue fell by 52.2 per cent in August which led to a 10.4 per cent decline in government’s retained revenue from N420.2bn in July. “The Federal Government recorded reductions in all its revenue components. Significant decline in independent revenue sources reflected lower remittances from ministries, departments, and agencies and government business interests,” it said. The CBN, however, noted that statutory receipt from the federation account rose by 6.2 per cent to N299bn in August, significantly impacting the government’s retained revenue during the review period. It said the aggregate expenditure fell by 18.8 per cent from N962.1bn recorded in July due to a reduction in overhead cost and low capital expenditure. The report said, “Although recurrent expenditure shrunk by 18.3 per cent to N683.46bn following a 48.9 per cent decline in overhead cost, it maintained its dominance in total spending.

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