Nigeria has recorded a revenue shortfall of N1.064 trillion in the first six months of the year. Senator Udo Udoma made it known on Monday.
Udoma who is the Minister of Budget and National Planning said this during the consultations for the 2017-2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework(MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) in Abuja.
Nigeria’s projected revenue intake by June 2016 was down by a whopping 55% or N1.064tr Udoma explained. He also disclosed that the loss was made worse by domestic borrowing amounting to N 600 billion, about 33 per cent of the approved borrowing of N 1, 818.87 billion.
According to Thisday, a huge factor in this revenue shortfall is the current crisis in the Niger delta.
Udoma said “The 2016 budget performance is reflective of the low revenue out turns attributable to the global and domestic developments earlier highlighted.
“Oil revenues fell significantly in the second quarter compared to the first quarter as a result of increased oil pipeline vandalism and production shut-ins.
“Non – oil revenues also declined compared with forecasts in the budget due to slow- down in economic activities and the acute shortage of foreign exchange,”
The most popular of the Niger Delta militant groups, The Niger Delta Avengers have said that they want to cripple the country economically by destroying pipelines and causing chaos in the region.
The new numbers by Udo Udoma would make for grim reading to Nigerians as it shows the impact of the Avengers’ activity.
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