Oyo asks Presidency for NLNG dividend breakdown as funding dispute deepens

The Oyo State Government has asked the Presidency to explain how Nigeria LNG dividends received under President Bola Tinubu were shared among the three tiers of government, as both sides dispute whether states are owed money.

Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration says a reconciliation exercise identified about N9 trillion due to states and local governments. The Presidency rejects his earlier claim that the Federal Government is withholding N250 billion for each state.

In a statement signed by Makinde’s media adviser, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, the Oyo government said the Nigeria Governors’ Forum engaged a consultant, with federal support, to reconcile the payments. It alleged that the Federal Government accepted the findings and said both the forum and the government held the report.

The Oyo statement asked how much states and councils had received, how the amounts were calculated and what happened to dividends received under the current administration.

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said on Sunday that N250 billion for each of the 36 states would amount to N9 trillion before the shares of the Federal Government, the FCT and local councils were included.

He said states receive 26.72 per cent of distributable Federation Account revenue and argued that their combined share could not reach N9 trillion unless the total dividend distribution exceeded N33.68 trillion, or about $25 billion, in one declaration.

According to Onanuga, NLNG paid about $21.5 billion to the federation over 25 years, with less than $3 billion received since Tinubu took office. Oyo’s response asked about $3 billion, while the Presidency put receipts under the current administration below that amount.

Makinde’s original allegation concerned funds he said would not be released until after the 2027 elections. The Presidency called the withholding claim false.

The Makinde-Daura campaign organisation has also requested the dividend receipts, FAAC decisions and official communications showing the amounts received, sums approved for distribution and timing of proposed payments to states, Vanguard reported.

Sources: Premium Times, Vanguard