Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has challenged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to disclose how nearly $3bn in dividends from Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) received since 2023 was distributed, insisting that the Presidency has yet to address the central issue in the dispute.
The governor’s challenge follows the Presidency’s rejection of his allegation that the Federal Government withheld dividends due to state and local governments, resulting in a shortfall estimated at about ₦9tn.
In a statement issued on Monday by his Special Adviser on Media, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, Makinde said the Presidency’s response failed to explain how the funds received under the current administration were shared among the three tiers of government.
According to the Oyo State Government, a reconciliation exercise commissioned by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), with the Federal Government’s support, identified a shortfall of about ₦9tn owed to states and local governments.
The government said the Federal Government accepted the findings, adding that the reconciliation report remained in the custody of both the Federal Government and the NGF.
Makinde had earlier alleged that each state was entitled to about ₦250bn in NLNG dividends and claimed that the funds had not been released as expected.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ engagement on Oyo State’s 2027 budget in Ibadan on Friday, the governor questioned why the payments would allegedly be delayed until after the 2027 general elections, despite the financial needs of state governments.
The Presidency, however, dismissed the allegation as false.
President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, argued that allocating ₦250bn to each of Nigeria’s 36 states would amount to ₦9tn, excluding the Federal Government, the Federal Capital Territory and the 774 local government areas.
He said states receive 26.72 per cent of distributable Federation Account revenue under the existing revenue-sharing formula.
Onanuga further stated that NLNG had paid approximately $21.5bn in dividends to the Federation over the past 25 years, with less than $3bn received since Tinubu assumed office.
He maintained that the governor’s claim was inconsistent with the company’s historical dividend payments and urged Nigerians to disregard the allegation.
Oyo demands a breakdown of payments
Responding to the Presidency, the Oyo State Government said citing NLNG’s cumulative dividend payments over 25 years did not answer questions about the specific amounts received since 2023 or how those funds were distributed.
The government asked the Presidency to disclose how much each tier of government received, how the payments were calculated and whether states and local governments had received their respective shares.
It also called for the publication of relevant dividend receipts, Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) decisions and official communications to clarify the disputed payments.
The state government maintained that Makinde had a basis for his claims and urged the Federal Government to address the substance of the allegations rather than focus solely on disputing the figures.
Transparency at the centre of the dispute
The disagreement has brought renewed attention to the management of NLNG dividends and the distribution of revenue accruing to the Federation Account.
While the Presidency disputes Makinde’s claim that ₦250bn is due to each state, the Oyo State Government insists that the specific payments received under the Tinubu administration and their distribution must be explained.
The dispute remains unresolved, with the publication of a detailed reconciliation of the relevant receipts and allocations likely to provide greater clarity on the competing claims.
