By Augustine Kiki In April 2023, the Federal, State, and Local Governments shared ₦650 billion from the Federation Account Allocation Comm...
By Augustine Kiki
In April 2023, the Federal, State, and Local Governments shared ₦650 billion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). Just a little over two years later, in July 2025, the same three tiers of government shared a staggering ₦2 trillion. States and Local Governments alone took home more than 40 percent of that sum. On the surface, this looks like progress — a nearly 300 percent increase in monthly revenue. But the real question is: progress for whom?
This sudden surge in allocations is not the product of industrial growth, booming exports, or a revival of Nigeria’s productive sectors. Rather, it is the direct consequence of fuel subsidy removal and the floating of the naira — policies of the current administration that have dramatically boosted government revenue. But while the government celebrates higher allocations, millions of Nigerians are bearing the brunt of these reforms.
The removal of fuel subsidy may have given the treasury a lifeline, but it has simultaneously squeezed life out of the ordinary citizen. The cost of living has skyrocketed, inflation has eroded purchasing power, and poverty has deepened, with an estimated 133 million Nigerians now battling multidimensional poverty. Civil servants, even after receiving a 100 percent increase in minimum wage, lament that their take-home pay no longer takes them home.
Yet, in the midst of rising hardship, political actors are painting a very different picture. Some state governors — including those from the opposition — are defecting into the ruling party, praising the reforms as “necessary” and “yielding results.” But how can one reconcile their glowing endorsements with the despairing cries of the masses? The answer may lie in the simple reality that governors now receive three times the revenue they once did. For them, there is no incentive to criticize an arrangement that fattens their coffers, regardless of the suffering on the streets.
So, what exactly is the purpose of this revenue windfall? Has the increase in FAAC allocations translated into better schools, functioning hospitals, reliable power supply, or infrastructure that eases the daily struggles of citizens? Or is the money merely greasing the machinery of politics, funding patronage and defections rather than genuine development?
It is easy to lay blame at the feet of the Federal Government, but the real test of reform lies at the state and local government levels. If these funds fail to expand access to education, health, and social infrastructure, then the much-trumpeted reforms risk becoming another cycle of enrichment for the political elite while ordinary Nigerians sink deeper into poverty.
Ultimately, reforms must be judged not by how much they enrich the government, but by how much they improve the lives of the governed. If the people continue to suffer while allocations multiply, trust in future reforms will evaporate. And once public trust is lost, no government — regardless of revenue inflows — can govern effectively.
The FAAC windfall may be a blessing for government treasuries, but for the Nigerian people, it increasingly looks like a curse disguised as reform.
Augustine Kiki, a teacher and social commentator, writes from Badagry
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