(Ecofin Agency) - The office of the Accountant General has revealed that Nigeria’s revenue shared between the federal, state and local governments, increased by 16% to N465.19 billion ($1.5 billion) in January from the N400 billion ($1.31 billion) in December 2016.

The shared amount includes statutory distributable revenue of N282.406 billion, Value Added Tax of N73.522 billion, exchange gains of N48.371 billion among others.

According to a statement from the office, the “Federation revenues increased despite the force majeure and the shut-down of pipelines for repairs and maintenance due to leakages and sabotage.”

The statement added that during that period, the average oil prices rose from $47.30 to $49.57 per barrel while the total crude export volume increased to 1.49 million barrels.

Nigeria entered its first recession in 2016. The nation which depends on crude oil sales for two-thirds of its revenue was hit hard by the fall in global crude prices in mid-2014 paired with attacks by militants in the Niger Delta region.

Anita Fatunji