NLNG Dividends: Oyo govt challenges presidency to explain distribution of $3bn received under Tinubu

The Oyo State Government has challenged the presidency to explain how dividends paid by Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) and received under President Bola Tinubu were distributed among the federal, state and local governments, maintaining that a reconciliation exercise identified a shortfall of about N9 trillion owed to states and local governments.

PREMIUM TIMES reported the presidency’s rejection of the Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde’s allegation that the federal government was withholding NLNG dividends due to states and local governments

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, Mr Makinde said the presidency’s response failed to address the central question of how the funds were distributed.

The governor, the presidential candidate of the Allied People’s Movement for the 2027 election, said the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), with the federal government’s support, engaged a consultant to reconcile NLNG dividend payments.

“The exercise identified a shortfall of about N9 trillion due to states and local governments. The federal government accepted the findings,” the statement read.

Mr Makinde added that the reconciliation report remained in the custody of both the federal government and the NGF, expressing confidence that the presidency would not deny its existence.

The governor, who will be running against President Tinubu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the upcoming 2027 election, is the incumbent vice-chairman of the NGF.

FG, Oyo govt dispute over NLNG dividends

The dispute followed Mr Makinde’s claim that each state was entitled to about N250 billion in NLNG dividends that had allegedly been withheld by the federal government.

In its response on Sunday, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga described the claim as false, arguing that the amount would imply a total distribution of N9 trillion to the 36 states alone.

Mr Onanuga said states receive 26.72 per cent of distributable Federation Account revenue under the existing revenue-sharing formula. He argued that for the states’ combined share to reach N9 trillion, total NLNG dividends paid into the Federation Account would have to exceed N33.68 trillion ($25 billion), in a single declaration.

The presidency said NLNG had paid approximately $21.5 billion in dividends to the federation over the past 25 years, with less than $3 billion received under the Tinubu administration.

Oyo questions distribution of $3 billion

The Oyo government said the presidency had not explained how the dividends received under the current administration were distributed or how much each tier of government received.

“Have states and local governments received their shares? How much did they receive, and how were those amounts calculated? What happened to the $3 billion received under this administration?” the statement asked.

The statement also defended Mr Makinde’s figures, saying the governor had a basis for his claims. “Governor Makinde conducts public discourse with decorum and does not make unfounded claims or quote figures without a basis.”

It urged the presidency to address the substance of the allegation and said it was ready to provide further clarification.

While the presidency’s response focused on the scale of NLNG’s historical dividend payments and the revenue-sharing implications of Mr Makinde’s claim, it did not provide a transaction-by-transaction reconciliation of the dividend proceeds in question or a breakdown of how the amount received under the current administration was distributed among the three tiers of government.