Nigeria Earned Over ₦60 Trillion in 3 Years, Yet Borrowing Persists Amid Massive Revenue Leakages — Olisa Agbakoba

 

By oluwaseyi fadoro 

A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has revealed that Nigeria generated more than ₦60 trillion in federal revenues between 2023 and 2025, raising concerns over why the country continues to rely heavily on borrowing to fund basic services.

Agbakoba criticized what he described as systemic failures in revenue management, arguing that funds are not reaching the Federation Account as required by the Constitution. According to him, significant portions of national income are either withheld or diverted before they are officially accounted for.

He pointed to an ongoing Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) investigation into alleged under-remittances by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), estimated at $42.37 billion (about ₦12.91 trillion) between 2011 and 2017.

In 2025 alone, he noted that ₦14.94 trillion—nearly 40% of total federation revenues—was deducted before reaching FAAC. Similarly, in 2024, NNPC reportedly remitted only ₦600 billion out of ₦1.1 trillion due, withholding ₦500 billion for what it described as legacy obligations.

Agbakoba emphasized that these financial leakages have had severe consequences for national development. Funds that could have been used to build infrastructure, improve healthcare, expand electricity access, and strengthen education systems have instead been lost within the system.

He further highlighted Nigeria’s rising revenue figures, which grew from ₦16.8 trillion in 2023 to ₦31.9 trillion in 2024, with continued growth projected for 2025. Despite this, debt servicing consumed 78% of federal revenue in 2023 and 69% in 2024—far exceeding the 30–40% benchmark recommended by international financial institutions.

The senior advocate also questioned structural issues in Nigeria’s fiscal framework, noting that the Constitution does not clearly designate a custodian for the Federation Account. He argued that the Treasury Single Account (TSA) is incompatible with constitutional provisions and should be replaced with a more transparent system.

Agbakoba described Nigeria as a nation richly endowed with natural and human resources, including vast oil reserves and solid minerals such as gold, lithium, tin, and iron ore. Despite this, he said the country continues to struggle with widespread poverty and underdevelopment.

He cited troubling social indicators: over 87 million Nigerians live in extreme poverty, life expectancy remains below 55 years, maternal mortality is among the highest globally, and more than 20 million children are out of school. In addition, most households have access to less than 12 hours of electricity daily.

According to him, Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit is estimated at $2.3 trillion between 2020 and 2043, with an annual shortfall of about $100 billion.

Agbakoba concluded that Nigeria’s challenges are not due to a lack of resources but rather a failure in the systems responsible for collecting, managing, and distributing those resources.