Nigeria distributes 403 bln naira revenues for May

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By Randy Fabi

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria has distributed 403 billion naira from federal accounts to its three tiers of government for its May allocations, the FAAC committee responsible for the disbursals said on Tuesday.

Last month the OPEC member distributed a total of 750 billion naira, 410 billion of which was the April allocations plus 340 billion in arrears, easing a liquidity squeeze and triggering a retreat in bond yields and interbank rates.

Remi Babalola, Minister of State for Finance, said the disbursals for May included 22.7 billion naira taken from the excess crude account, into which the OPEC member saves windfall oil revenues above the benchmark price in its budget.

Accountant General Ibrahim Dankwambo said the excess crude account contained $3.2 billion and 29 billion naira after the latest disbursals, which Babalola said was "sufficient for the next few months irrespective of oil markets".

The account stood at $4.6 billion in early May, before the payment of budgetary allocations for April, May and the arrears.

The FAAC said the lower disbursal in May was caused by maintenance work and sabotage to oil facilities in the Niger Delta, the heartland of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry.

"The decrease was attributable to maintenance work during the month at EA, Qua Iboe, Bonga, and Brass terminals resulting in the loss of production as well as fresh sabotage attacks on the Trans Forcados and Ebocha-Brass trunklines," it said.