Presidency, Makinde lock horns over N250bn NLNG dividend

The Presidency on Sunday described as false the claim by the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, that the Federal Government is withholding N250bn in Nigeria LNG Limited dividends for each state until after the 2027 elections.

It said the sum, as Makinde claimed, would exceed the company’s entire lifetime payout to the Federation.

In a statement signed on Sunday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency asked Nigerians to disregard the claim.

It also said it expected Makinde “to be more measured in his public conduct and utterances.”

Makinde, the presidential candidate of the Allied People’s Movement, had at the 2027 Budget Stakeholders’ Consultative Engagement at the Olola Ogunlana Hall, International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, on Friday, claimed that “Each state was supposed to get N250bn. We had already identified projects that would expand Oyo State’s economy.

“But they have now said the money will not be paid until after the election. Is the election more important than the people of Nigeria?”

The governor had reportedly also said the dividends had gone into the Federation Account and that “the Federal Government spent it alone.”

He said President Bola Tinubu assured governors the money would be paid after the elections.

Onanuga, however, argued that N250bn for each of the 36 states would come to N9.0trn, excluding the Federal Government, the Federal Capital Territory and the 774 local councils.

States receive 26.72 per cent of distributable revenue under the Federation Account Allocation Committee formula.

For their share alone to reach N9tn, Onanuga argued, NLNG dividends paid into the Federation Account “would have to exceed N33.68tn (about $25bn) in a single declaration.

“NLNG has never paid $25bn in dividends to the Federation Account in a single payout.”

The statement said NLNG has paid about $21.5bn in dividends to the federation over 25 years, with less than $3bn realised since Tinubu took office.

“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,” the Presidency affirmed.

It said that since Makinde began his presidential bid, “he has chosen to play politics by making misleading claims rather than presenting verifiable facts.”

It added that the Oyo State governor “had turned false, unguarded statements and claims into an art form.”

It recalled that Makinde once described the huge flow of funds from the Federation Account to states, including Oyo, as voodoo.

“Under Nigerian law, Governor Makinde is free to pursue his presidential ambition.

“He should desist from making falsehoods and disinformation the hallmarks of his campaign,” the statement added.

The Presidency urged the public to disregard the claims, which it said “serve only to mislead citizens and stoke needless disaffection against the Federal authorities.”

In a reply on Sunday, Makinde, in a statement by his

Special Adviser (Media), Dr Sulaimon Olanrewaju, said the Presidency response sidestepped the central issue, adding that the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, with the Federal Government’s support, engaged a consultant to reconcile NLNG dividend payments.

He claimed that the exercise identified a shortfall of about N9tn due to states and local governments, adding that the Federal Government accepted the findings.

“The report remains in the custody of both the Federal Government and the NGF. We trust the Presidency will not deny its existence,” the statement said.

It described Makinde as the NGF’s incumbent vice-chairman.

It asked: “The Presidency stated that NLNG had paid $21.5bn in dividends into the Federation Account since inception, including $3bn received under the current administration. But it did not explain how these funds were disbursed.

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

“Governor Makinde conducts public discourse with decorum and does not make unfounded claims or quote figures without a basis. We remain ready to provide further clarification while we urge the Presidency to address the substance of the matter.”

The Federal Government holds 49 per cent of NLNG.

In July, Chief Executive Officer of the NLNG, Adeleye Falade, said the company had paid $47.2bn in dividends to all shareholders, including the Federal Government, from revenue of $149.6bn since it began operations.

Annual payments to NNPC, its government shareholder, were $1.39bn in 2014, $722.44m in 2021 and $1.10bn in 2022, according to NLNG’s Facts and Figures report.

The 36 states reportedly received N4.83tn from the Federation Account between January and June, with Oyo getting N147.32bn.

The Oyo governor declared his presidential ambition on May 14 at a rally in Ibadan, under the APM, after the party signed an alliance with a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party led by Kabiru Turaki.