NLNG Dividend: Provide Amount Meant For States And LG, Makinde Tells FG

The presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, has asked the Federal Government to disclose the amount due to states and local governments from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) dividend payments.

Makinde, the governor of Oyo State, said this in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, during the APM Presidential Campaign Organisation South-South Town Hall Meeting.

He accused the Federal Government of spending money paid by Nigeria LNG into the Federation Account alone.

“I said the Federal Government has withheld almost ₦250bn due to each state from Nigeria LNG dividend payments. Rather than come out and tell us what has been happening to dividends paid by Nigeria LNG, they said, ‘No, Governor Makinde, you be careful. You should not say things that are not true,’” Makinde said on Tuesday.

“I stand by what I have said. The records are there. The papers are there,” he said, clarifying that he was not referring to a one-off payment.

“I did not say it was a one-off payment that is due to the states. They should listen and listen very carefully. What I said is that, over the years, including during this administration, the Federal Government has been spending alone the dividends paid by Nigeria LNG into the Federation Account.

“Anything that goes into the Federation Account, according to our Constitution, should be shared between the Federal Government, state governments and local governments. Let them provide the amounts meant for the states and local governments in Nigeria.”

Last Friday, Makinde accused the Federal Government of withholding ₦250 billion in NLNG dividends for each state in the country.

He claimed that each state “was supposed to get ₦250 billion”. But the presidency has refuted the Oyo Government’s claim, describing it as false.

“NLNG has never paid $25 billion in dividends to the Federation Account in a single payout,” presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said.

“Therefore, any claim that a single payout exceeds the company’s entire lifetime distribution to the Federation—and is being withheld—defies basic logic and economic reality,” he said.