The five states that received the highest allocations from the Federation Account in May 2026 collectively got N317.47 billion, exceeding the combined N310.13 billion allocated to 20 states with the lowest receipts.
An analysis of figures contained in the June revenue allocation report of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), which was made available in August, showed that Rivers, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Lagos and Bayelsa topped the allocation table.
Rivers State received the highest net allocation of N70.32 billion, followed by Delta with N66.44 billion, Akwa Ibom with N62.09 billion, Lagos with N60.35 billion and Bayelsa with N58.28 billion.
Together, the five states received N317.47 billion, representing about 37.4 per cent of the N848.38 billion shared among the 36 states.
In contrast, the 20 states with the lowest allocations collectively received N310.13 billion, meaning the five highest beneficiaries received N7.34 billion more than 20 states combined.
The 20 lowest-earning states were Ekiti (N13.13bn), Cross River (N13.21bn), Gombe (N13.98bn), Ogun (N13.98bn), Kwara (N14.35bn), Osun (N14.44bn), Ebonyi (N14.64bn), Bauchi (N15.07bn), Nasarawa (N15.31bn), Plateau (N15.83bn) and Yobe (N15.89bn).
Others were Enugu (N16.20bn), Adamawa (N16.37bn), Kogi (N16.46bn), Edo (N16.60bn), Zamfara (N16.69bn), Kaduna (N16.72bn), Kebbi (N16.93bn), Sokoto (N17.03bn) and Niger (N17.28bn).
The disparity becomes even more pronounced when the five highest recipients are compared with the five lowest. Ekiti, Cross River, Ogun, Gombe and Kwara received a combined N68.65 billion, meaning the top five states received about 4.6 times more.
The significant difference in allocations was largely driven by the various components of Federation Account revenue, particularly the 13 per cent derivation allocation for oil-producing states and Value Added Tax (VAT).
Delta received N50.25 billion in derivation revenue, while Akwa Ibom received N45.98 billion and Bayelsa N42.18 billion. Rivers received N31.29 billion from derivation.
Lagos, despite not benefiting from the 13 per cent derivation allocation, ranked fourth because of its substantial VAT receipts. The state received N55.25 billion in net VAT after a deduction of N9.89 billion, significantly boosting its total allocation to N60.35 billion.
The figures demonstrate how derivation and VAT can substantially influence the final position of states in the allocation table. While statutory allocations were relatively closer across states, the additional revenue components created a much wider gap.
Rivers recorded a net statutory allocation of N38.85 billion, while Delta received N58.14 billion and Akwa Ibom N54.61 billion after their respective derivation components and deductions. Bayelsa received N50.15 billion, while Lagos had a net statutory allocation of N4.73 billion after an external debt deduction.
Despite its relatively low statutory allocation, Lagos’ strong VAT receipts pushed its total net allocation to N60.35 billion.
At the bottom of the table, Ekiti received N13.13 billion, making it the state with the lowest allocation for the month. Cross River followed with N13.21 billion, while Ogun and Gombe received N13.98 billion each. Kwara received N14.35 billion.
Rivers’ N70.32 billion allocation was therefore more than five times Ekiti’s N13.13 billion.
The OAGF figures showed that the 36 states collectively received N848.38 billion as their total net allocation for May 2026, which was shared in June.
The figures highlight the significant variations in federally distributed revenue among Nigeria’s states, with oil-producing states benefiting from derivation payments and economically active states such as Lagos receiving substantial VAT revenue.
Under Nigeria’s revenue-sharing framework, federally collected revenues are pooled into the Federation Account and distributed among the Federal Government, state governments and local governments through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
The distributable revenue includes statutory allocations, VAT and other revenue streams, with deductions, interventions and other statutory obligations taken into consideration before the final amounts are shared.
As a result, states with significant oil and gas production or strong economic activity can receive substantially higher allocations than states without comparable derivation or VAT revenues.