FG deducts N500bn from May FAAC allocation for emergency security funding

Sources told Punch that about N500 billion was removed from the May 2026 revenue of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) to finance a national security emergency intervention.

A number of senior officials familiar with the FAAC proceedings confirmed that the deduction was effected before the monthly revenue sharing among the Federal Government, states and the 774 local government councils.

One of the sources said, “FAAC took ₦500 billion this month for the national security emergency fund.

Another official said the deduction accounted for a huge chunk of the difference between gross revenue earned and what was ultimately shared.

That is where the FAAC windfall is going too,” the source added.

The official added that the deduction was known to the commissioners of finance of the 36 states who are members of FAAC.

“The commissioners are not talking about it, which means they know,” the source added.

Docs Reveal Huge Deductions
Punch gathered on Thursday that significant deductions were made from federation revenues at the May 2026 FAAC meeting, an official FAAC allocation document showed.

A sum of ₦250 billion, the document says, was allocated for a Military Intervention Fund. It also says that ₦252 billion was allocated as an Infrastructure Development Fund to states.

It also revealed that N450 billion was deducted into the Non-Oil Excess Revenue Account, which brought the total value of the three major deductions to N952 billion.

This came after the FAAC announced the distribution of ₦2.3tn to the Federal Government, states and local government councils as revenue allocation for May 2026.

The sum, which is an increase of N43 billion from N2.26 trillion shared last month, was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, FAAC said.

The May allocation is up 1.9 percent month-on-month and continues the recent increase in federation revenues.

The ₦2.300 trillion distributable revenue included ₦1.611 trillion statutory revenue and ₦688.785 billion Value Added Tax revenue, the statement said.

In a communiqué issued after the meeting, gross revenue available in May stood at ₦3.395 trillion.

Of the amount, ₦123.546 billion was deducted as cost of collection, ₦971.610 billion was earmarked for transfers and refunds.

The breakdown showed that the Federal Government received ₦818.680 billion and the state governments received ₦759.141 billion.

The 774 local government councils shared ₦534.277 billion while oil-producing states shared ₦188.132 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.

The official FAAC communiqué did not disclose the specific items under transfers and refunds, but sources said the N500bn security deduction formed part of the pre-distribution adjustments made to the federation revenue for the month.

Tightening security
The cut comes as insecurity continues to plague the nation and pressure is mounting on federal and state governments to ramp up military and intelligence operations.

Nigeria continues to battle insurgency in the North-East, banditry and mass kidnappings in the North-West, farmer-herder clashes in the North-Central, separatist agitation in the South-East, and crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta.

Notwithstanding huge annual budgetary allocations to defence and security, attacks on communities, abductions for ransom and assaults on security formations have continued to overstretch the country’s security architecture.

The administration of President Bola Tinubu has often cited national security as a priority and a prerequisite for economic growth and social stability.

Since taking office in May 2023, the Federal Government has increased funding for the armed forces, approved the procurement of military hardware and stepped up intelligence-led operations against violent crimes.