Oyo Government Asks Presidency to Explain $3bn NLNG Dividends Distribution

The Oyo State Government is asking the presidency to clarify how the dividends from Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) were shared. This money was received under President Bola Tinubu. The state claims a reconciliation exercise has found a shortfall of about N9 trillion owed to states and local governments.

According to PREMIUM TIMES, the presidency has rejected Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde’s claim that the federal government is holding back NLNG dividends owed to states and local governments.

In a statement from his Special Adviser on Media, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, Mr Makinde said the presidency did not answer the main question about how the funds were shared.

Mr Makinde, who is also the presidential candidate of the Allied People’s Movement for the 2027 election, mentioned that the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), with help from the federal government, hired a consultant to review 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 noted that the reconciliation report is with both the federal government and the NGF. He believes the presidency will not deny that the report exists.

The governor, who is set to run against President Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress candidate in the 2027 election, is currently the vice-chairman of the NGF.

FG and Oyo Government Disagree on NLNG Dividends

This disagreement started after Mr Makinde claimed that each state should receive around N250 billion in NLNG dividends that the federal government has allegedly withheld.

In a response on Sunday, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga called this claim false. He said this amount would mean a total of N9 trillion would go to the 36 states alone.

Mr Onanuga explained that states get 26.72 percent of the distributable Federation Account revenue based on the current revenue-sharing formula. He added that for states' combined share to hit N9 trillion, total NLNG dividends paid into the Federation Account would have to be more than N33.68 trillion ($25 billion) in a single payment.

The presidency stated that NLNG has paid about $21.5 billion in dividends to the federation over the last 25 years. Less than $3 billion of this has been received under the Tinubu administration.

Oyo Government Questions $3 Billion Distribution

The Oyo government has pointed out that the presidency has not explained how the dividends received under the current government were shared or how much each level of government got.

"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 backed Mr Makinde’s figures, saying the governor has a solid basis for his claims. "Governor Makinde engages in public discussions with respect and does not make baseless claims or use figures without support."

It urged the presidency to address the main issue of the allegation and said it is ready to provide more information.

While the presidency focused on the history of NLNG's dividend payments and the revenue-sharing consequences of Mr Makinde’s claim, it did not provide a detailed breakdown of how the money received under the current administration was shared among the three levels of government.