The Presidency has rejected Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde’s allegation that the Federal Government is withholding ₦250 billion in Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) dividends meant for each state, describing the claim as false and inconsistent with the country’s revenue-sharing arrangements.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, made the clarification in a statement on Sunday, October 18, urging Nigerians to disregard the allegation.
Makinde had raised the issue during the 2027 Budget Stakeholders’ Consultative Engagement in Ibadan, where he alleged that the Federal Government had withheld the funds and indicated that they would not be released until after the 2027 general elections.
The governor claimed that each state was expected to receive ₦250 billion and said his administration had already identified projects that would benefit from the anticipated funds.
Questioning the alleged delay, Makinde asked why the interests of the electorate should be placed behind the forthcoming elections.
However, the Presidency disputed his figures, explaining that a distribution of ₦250 billion to each of Nigeria’s 36 states would amount to ₦9 trillion, excluding allocations to the Federal Government, the Federal Capital Territory and the 774 local government areas.
According to Onanuga, states receive 26.72 per cent of distributable revenue under the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) sharing formula.
He argued that for the states to collectively receive ₦9 trillion from a single dividend distribution, NLNG would have had to pay more than ₦33.68 trillion, equivalent to approximately $25 billion, into the Federation Account in one declaration.
The presidential spokesman maintained that NLNG had never made a single dividend payment of that magnitude to the Federation.
Providing further context, Onanuga said the company had paid approximately $21.5 billion in dividends to the Federation over the past 25 years, with less than $3 billion realised since Tinubu assumed office.
He argued that the figures made Makinde’s allegation of a single, withheld dividend windfall exceeding the company’s entire historical payments to the Federation implausible.
The Presidency also criticised the governor’s public statements on federal revenue allocations, recalling his previous description of substantial financial inflows to states, including Oyo, as “voodoo”.
Onanuga accused Makinde of making misleading claims as he pursues his presidential ambition, urging him to support his public allegations with verifiable facts.
While acknowledging the governor’s right to contest the 2027 presidential election, the presidential spokesman warned against what he described as the spread of false information capable of misleading citizens and creating unnecessary tension between the public and the Federal Government.
The dispute has drawn attention to the management of NLNG dividend proceeds, the distribution of Federation Account revenue and the financial resources available to state governments for infrastructure and development projects.
