Five Nigerian states received 32.92% of first-half 2026 Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) funds assigned to states and the Federal Capital Territory, underscoring a wide gap in federal transfers, BudgIT found.
BudgIT put the combined allocation to Lagos, Delta, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa at about N1.53 trillion from January through June. Their share is measured against N4.65 trillion allocated across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). BudgIT’s separate N10.96 trillion figure covers distributions to federal, state and local governments together.
Lagos received N365.78 billion, followed by Delta with N331.43 billion, Rivers with N295.99 billion, Akwa Ibom with N270.27 billion and Bayelsa with N266.72 billion. Ekiti was the lowest recipient in BudgIT’s state tally at N56.37 billion. Lagos received about 6.5 times Ekiti’s allocation.
Nigeria’s Constitution directs lawmakers to consider population, equality among states, locally raised revenue and land area when setting the sharing formula. It also requires a derivation component of at least 13% of Federation Account revenue directly attributable to natural resources. The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) identifies Delta, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa as oil-derivation beneficiaries.
The pattern predates this year’s figures. In an analysis covering January through July 2024, NEITI placed those four states and Lagos in its highest allocation band. The figures track money allocated to governments, rather than what they spent or delivered to residents.
BudgIT also counted N311.20 billion for Lagos’ 20 local councils, compared with N148.41 billion for Kano’s 44. Agora Policy suggested that the growing weight of value-added tax may help explain why commercial centers receive more council funding despite having fewer councils. Its separate calculations put Lagos at N310.85 billion and Kano at N163.5 billion.
Trust Radio calculated a different first-half ranking, putting Delta first at N369.87 billion and Lagos second at N368.79 billion. It counted N4.83 trillion for the 36 states, and its amounts for all five leading states differed from BudgIT’s. The published analyses do not reconcile the calculations.
The National Bureau of Statistics catalog carries monthly FAAC data provided by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. It lists no date for the next release.
