The presidency has denied Governor Seyi Makinde’s claim that the Federal Government is withholding N250 billion in NLNG dividends from each state until after the 2027 general election.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said Makinde’s numbers do not match NLNG’s past dividend payments.
On Sunday, Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, called the claim false and pointed to the dividends NLNG has paid into the federation account over the years.
Makinde brought up the issue during the 2027 budget stakeholders’ meeting at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, on Friday.
The governor said the funds would not be released until after the election and claimed the Federal Government had already spent the money.
“Each state was supposed to get ₦250 billion. We had already chosen projects to help Oyo State’s economy grow. But now they say the money will not be paid until after the election. Is the election more important than the people of Nigeria?” the governor said.
But Onanuga argued that the proposed allocation would require far more than what NLNG has historically paid to the FG.
He said distributing N250bn to each of the 36 states would amount to N9trn, excluding the Federal Government, the Federal Capital Territory and the 774 local government councils.
He noted that under the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) revenue-sharing formula, states receive 26.72 per cent of distributable Federation Account revenue.
Onanuga said total NLNG dividends paid into the Federation Account would have to exceed N33.68trn, or about $25bn, in a single declaration for the states to receive N9trn from their statutory share.
“NLNG has never paid $25 billion in dividends to the Federation Account in a single payout,” he said.
The presidential aide added that NLNG had paid approximately $21.5bn in dividends to the Federation over the past 25 years, and that only $3bn has been realised since President Tinubu assumed office.
Onanuga also accused Governor Makinde of making misleading statements since declaring his presidential ambition, and urged him to substantiate his claims with verifiable information.
He cited Makinde’s previous description of financial allocations from the Federation Account to states, including Oyo, as ‘voodoo’, and urged the governor to avoid falsehoods and disinformation during his campaign.
