HOW ₦2.63 TRILLION MOVED ACROSS NIGERIA IN ONE MONTH

Last night, a report landed on the desk that had nothing to do with politics or gossip.

It was the National Bureau of Statistics FAAC Allocation Report for April 2026.

Most people will never open it. It is 30 pages of tables and acronyms. But inside it is a number that explains a lot about how Nigeria works: ₦2.63 trillion.

That was the amount shared among Nigeria’s three tiers of government in one month. Not billion. Trillion.

And the question that follows is simple: how many Nigerians know where that money goes?

The Family Farm

To understand FAAC, forget government for a second.

Imagine one big family farm. Every month the farm makes money. No single person owns it. So at the end of the month, everyone sits at one table and shares it. The father, the uncles, the cousins.

That table is FAAC.
FAAC means Federation Account Allocation Committee.

Every month, money comes into one pot from different places:
Oil and gas. VAT — the small tax added when you buy goods. Company taxes. Non-oil revenue. Solid minerals.

Then it is shared.

In April 2026, the pot looked like this:

• ₦1.70 trillion from statutory revenue
• ₦664.42 billion from VAT
• ₦200 billion from non-oil revenue
• ₦68.10 billion from solid minerals

Total: ₦2.63 trillion

Who Got What

This is where a lot of the confusion starts. Many people think “government money” means only Abuja.

It doesn’t. The constitution says the money is split three ways.

1. Federal Government: ₦820.37 billion
2. 36 State Governments: ₦673.43 billion combined
3. 774 Local Governments: ₦481.03 billion combined

So if the road in your street has potholes, or the primary health center has no drugs, or the school roof is leaking — the first question isn’t always “What is Abuja doing?”

Sometimes the better question is: “Governor, what did you do with your state’s share this month?”
Or: “Chairman, what happened to our local government allocation?”

That is financial literacy. It’s asking about the money closest to you.

The Numbers by State

The NBS report lists what each state received from the Federation Account in April.

The highest allocations went to oil-producing states:
Delta: ₦53.77 billion
Rivers: ₦46.64 billion
Akwa Ibom: ₦44.84 billion
Bayelsa: ₦41.93 billion
Lagos: ₦40.51 billion

Every state got something. From Abia to Zamfara. The FCT also received its allocation under a separate category.

For context in the South-East, the five states received:
Abia: ₦16.09 billion
Anambra: ₦17.46 billion
Ebonyi: ₦13.88 billion
Enugu: ₦13.24 billion
Imo: ₦16.79 billion

And that’s not all. Those are only the state government shares. Every LGA in those states also got a direct allocation from the same ₦481.03 billion pool for local governments nationwide.

It’s Not the Only Money

Here’s the part people miss. FAAC is not the only money states have.

States also make their own money. Through PAYE taxes. Land charges. Business registrations. Market fees. Road taxes. IGR — Internally Generated Revenue.

So when you hear “there is no money,” the follow-up question is: “Can you explain how FAAC plus IGR was spent this month? What projects did it go to?”

That’s not opposition. That’s accountability.

Why This Matters

Financial literacy isn’t just about saving or investing. It’s about understanding public money.

When you know where money comes from, you ask better questions.
When you ask better questions, leaders know people are watching.
When people are watching, government has more reason to explain.

This is not about who to vote for. It’s about knowing the basics before the arguments start.

The most powerful question in a democracy might be the simplest one:

“The money came into our state this month. What was it used for?”

If more Nigerians asked that, respectfully and consistently, we would all understand public finance a little better. And maybe, the farm would work better for everyone at the table.

SOURCE: National Bureau of Statistics, FAAC Allocation Report, April 2026.