Breaking: Government Sets Aside ₦500bn From FAAC Revenue For Security Operations

Several senior officials familiar with the FAAC proceedings confirmed that the deduction was made before the monthly revenue was shared among the Federal Government, state governments, and the 774 local government councils.

One of the officials said, “FAAC deducted ₦500 billion for the national security emergency fund this month.”

Another source explained that the deduction accounted for a significant portion of the gap between the gross revenue generated and the final distributable amount.

“That is where the FAAC windfall is going,” the source said.

The official also noted that finance commissioners from the 36 states, who participate in FAAC deliberations, were aware of the deduction.

“Commissioners are not speaking out, which means they are in the loop,” the source added.

Official Documents Show Large Deductions

An FAAC allocation document obtained by Punch indicated that substantial deductions were made from federation revenue during the May 2026 meeting.

According to the document, ₦250 billion was earmarked for a Military Intervention Fund, while ₦252 billion was allocated to an Infrastructure Development Fund for states.

In addition, ₦450 billion was deducted into the Non-Oil Excess Revenue Account, bringing the total value of major deductions to ₦952 billion.

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

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, the figure reflected an increase of ₦43 billion compared to the ₦2.26 trillion shared in the previous month.

The May allocation represents a 1.9% month-on-month increase, continuing a recent upward trend in federation revenue.

According to the statement, the ₦2.300 trillion distributable revenue comprised ₦1.611 trillion in statutory revenue and ₦688.785 billion from Value Added Tax (VAT).

A communiqué from the meeting showed that total gross revenue for May stood at ₦3.395 trillion.

From this, ₦123.546 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while ₦971.610 billion was set aside for transfers and refunds.

A breakdown of the distribution showed that the Federal Government received ₦818.680 billion, states got ₦759.141 billion, and the 774 local government councils shared ₦534.277 billion. Oil-producing states also received ₦188.132 billion as 13% derivation revenue.

Although the official communiqué did not specify the components of the transfers and refunds, sources said the ₦500 billion security-related deduction was included in the pre-distribution adjustments.

Rising Security Concerns

The deduction comes amid continued security challenges across the country and growing calls for stronger military and intelligence responses.

Nigeria is currently grappling with insurgency in the North-East, banditry and kidnappings in the North-West, farmer-herder clashes in the North-Central, separatist tensions in the South-East, and oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta.

Despite significant budgetary allocations to security, violent attacks, abductions, and assaults on security formations have persisted.

The administration of President Bola Tinubu has consistently identified national security as a key priority for economic stability and development, increasing defence spending, approving military equipment procurement, and strengthening intelligence-led operations since taking office in May 2023.