The Alllied Peoples Movement Presidential Campaign Organisation has faulted the Presidency’s denial of allegations that the Federal Government is withholding N250bn in Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas dividends meant for states.
In a statement on Sunday, the organisation’s Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Nnanna Ihediwa, challenged the Tinubu administration to publish relevant financial records to clarify the matter.
Makinde had last week, during the 2027 Budget Stakeholders’ Consultative Engagement at the Olola Ogunlana Hall, International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, alleged that the Federal Government was withholding ₦250bn in Nigeria LNG dividends allocated to each state.
He further claimed that the funds would not be released until after the 2027 general elections.
In a State House statement issued on Sunday, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, described the governor’s claim as false and said “it should be disregarded.”
Onanuga stated, “Makinde’s latest claim that the Federal Government is withholding the NLNG dividend windfall is false and should be disregarded.”
The statement noted that distributing ₦250bn to each of the 36 states in a one-off payment would amount to ₦9tn, excluding allocations to the Federal Government, the FCT and the 774 local government areas.
It added that, based on the Federation Account Allocation Committee’s revenue-sharing formula, states receive 26.72 per cent of the distributable revenue.
Consequently, the statement argued that the 36 states could each receive ₦250bn only if NLNG declared dividends exceeding ₦33.68tn, equivalent to about $25bn, in a single payment.
Reacting, Makinde Campaign Organisation maintained that citing NLNG’s cumulative dividend payments over the past 25 years did not address the specific allegation, insisting that only relevant financial records could establish the amount received during the period in question and whether any funds had been delayed or withheld.
It stated, “The attention of the Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organization has been drawn to the lame attempt by the Tinubu Presidency to evade the core issues raised by the Presidential Candidate of the Allied People’s Movement and Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde, that the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas dividend accruable to states is being withheld by the Tinubu-led Federal Government.
“Instead of coming clean on why the fund is withheld, the Tinubu Presidency, in its characteristic resort to lies, falsehood, distortions and propaganda, left the issue unaddressed and played around with unsupported figures in a bid to hoodwink Nigerians and divert public attention from this constitutional violation and assault on the states.
“If the Tinubu Presidency claims that Engr. Makinde is wrong in his assertion that N250 billion in NLNG dividends meant for states is being withheld, we challenge President Tinubu to directly tell Nigerians if the said dividends have been paid to the states rather than resorting to personal attacks on the APM presidential candidate.
“The Presidency appears carried away by its own display of imperial grandeur, forgetting that Nigeria remains a democracy in which demanding accountability for public funds is a civic right, not an offence. Governor Makinde’s presidential ambition does not in any way deny him that right, nor does it exempt the Federal Government from legitimate scrutiny.”
The organisation said the Presidency should clarify the total dividends paid by NLNG during the period in question, the amount remitted to the Federation Account and the sum approved for distribution to the states.
It continued, “We therefore challenge the Presidency to publish the relevant NLNG dividend receipts, Federation Account Allocation Committee decisions and official communications establishing the amounts received, the sums approved for distribution and the timing of the proposed payments to states.
“Nigerians deserve clear answers to three fundamental questions: how much did NLNG pay in dividends during the period under discussion, and what amount was credited to the Federation Account? They need to know how much was approved for distribution to the states.
“Invoking NLNG’s cumulative dividend payments in the last 25 years does not answer these questions. Historical totals cannot, by themselves, establish the amount received during a specific period and the sum available for distribution. They do not answer whether a particular payment was proposed, approved, received, delayed or withheld. Those questions can only be settled by the relevant financial records.
“If the Presidency’s argument is that allocating ₦250 billion to each of the 36 states would amount to ₦9 trillion, a sum NLNG has never paid as a single dividend, as it alleged, that calculation does not resolve the matter. The question is not whether ₦9 trillion was ever paid in a single transaction, but the amount that is actually under discussion, as can be established by the official records.”