Why Ebonyi Sits At The Bottom Of Nigeria’s 2025 FAAC Payouts
By FIDELUS ZWANSON
THE latest FAAC disbursement figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics lay bare a familiar yet troubling reality: Nigeria’s state-revenue structure remains profoundly uneven, structurally lopsided, and politically consequential. Between January and August 2025, the 36 states collectively received ₦4.587 trillion, but the gulf between the top earners and those at the bottom highlights a system still defined more by geography than by economic strategy.
Delta State, Rivers and Akwa Ibom once again dominated the allocation table, pocketing over ₦1 trillion combined in just eight months—an outcome driven largely by the 13 per cent oil derivation fund and the Niger Delta’s central role in national crude output. Bayelsa followed closely, while Lagos, the country’s commercial nerve centre and the only non-oil state in the top five, received ₦289.31 billion. These figures reaffirm the extent to which oil wealth and concentrated economic activity shape Nigeria’s fiscal landscape.
But the lower end of the allocation spectrum tells a starker story. Ebonyi received just ₦112.19 billion—among the lowest nationwide—surpassing only Ogun. Nasarawa, Kogi and Taraba also hovered near the bottom, revealing a pattern that cuts across much of the north and southeast: low economic activity, limited derivation benefits, and deep dependence on the federal purse.
This structural imbalance, long entrenched in Nigeria’s fiscal architecture, continues to fuel contemporary debates about restructuring, resource control and fiscal autonomy. While FAAC allocations surged in 2024 on the back of rising oil receipts and improved tax collection, many states remain financially fragile. Several still struggle to fund capital projects or meet salary obligations without federal transfers—a precarious position for a federation seeking sustainable development.
Across the country, calls for reform are growing louder. Southwestern states and parts of the Northwest are pushing for greater internal revenue generation to break the cycle of dependency. Oil-producing states, meanwhile, argue that rampant crude theft undermines their constitutionally guaranteed derivation funds, reducing allocations and weakening development prospects.
The Federal Government insists that improvements are underway—enhanced surveillance, pipeline security and revenue stabilisation efforts. Yet the numbers suggest that without deeper structural reforms, Nigeria’s fiscal map will continue to reflect inequality rather than equity.
The 2025 FAAC figures are more than a spreadsheet—they are a mirror, reflecting a federation grappling with the consequences of centralised revenue control, regional disparities, and the urgent need for a more balanced, sustainable fiscal future.
