Presidency, Makinde Clash Over Alleged ₦250bn NLNG Dividend for Each State

The Presidency and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde have disagreed over allegations that the Federal Government is withholding ₦250 billion in dividends from Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) due to each of the country’s 36 states.

Makinde had made the allegation on Friday during the 2027 Budget Stakeholders’ Consultative Engagement at the Olola Ogunlana Hall, International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan. He claimed that the funds would not be released until after the 2027 general elections and alleged that the Federal Government had already spent the money.

The governor said Oyo State had identified projects that would benefit from the expected allocation, questioning why political considerations should delay funding intended to improve citizens’ welfare.

However, the Presidency rejected the allegation, describing it as false and urging Nigerians to disregard it.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, explained that distributing ₦250 billion to each of the 36 states would amount to ₦9 trillion, excluding the Federal Government, the Federal Capital Territory and the 774 local government areas.

He said states receive 26.72 per cent of distributable revenue under the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) revenue-sharing formula. For the states’ combined share to reach ₦9 trillion, he argued, total NLNG dividends paid into the Federation Account would have to exceed ₦33.68 trillion, equivalent to approximately $25 billion, in a single declaration.

Onanuga maintained that NLNG had never paid such an amount in dividends to the Federation Account in a single transaction.

He added that the company had paid approximately $21.5 billion in dividends to the Federation over the past 25 years, with less than $3 billion received since Tinubu assumed office.

The presidential spokesman argued that the alleged single payout would exceed the company’s entire historical dividend payments to the Federation, making the claim economically implausible.

In a swift response, Makinde maintained his position, accusing the Presidency of avoiding the central issue by focusing on the size of the alleged payment rather than explaining how the dividend proceeds had been distributed.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, the governor said the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), with the Federal Government’s support, had engaged a consultant to reconcile NLNG dividend payments.

According to Makinde, the exercise identified a shortfall of approximately ₦9 trillion due to state and local governments, and the Federal Government had accepted the findings. He said the report remained in the custody of both the Federal Government and the NGF.

The governor, who is the NGF’s incumbent Vice-Chairman, called on the Presidency to clarify how the approximately $3 billion in NLNG dividends received under the current administration had been shared among the three tiers of government.

He asked whether states and local governments had received their respective shares, how much had been paid and what calculations were used to determine the allocations.

Makinde also called for the publication of a detailed breakdown of the transactions, insisting that the existence of the alleged reconciliation report warranted a substantive response from the Federal Government.

The disagreement has renewed questions about the management and distribution of revenue accruing to the Federation Account, as well as the transparency of payments to federal, state and local governments.

The competing claims remain disputed, with the Presidency challenging the financial basis of Makinde’s allegation and the governor demanding a reconciliation of the reported dividend proceeds.