Contrary to the place of the Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has denied the existence of a reconciliation course of over an alleged N9 trillion shortfall in dividends from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), insisting that it issued no assertion on any such train.
The Head of Media and Strategic Communications on the NGF Secretariat, Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi, said this in response to an enquiry by LEADERSHIP in search of clarification on claims {that a} reconciliation train had uncovered unpaid dividends as a consequence of state and native governments.
However, Makinde, who can be the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), yesterday challenged the Federal Government to reveal the quantities as a consequence of states and native governments from Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) dividend funds.
Makinde, who made the decision in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State Capital, throughout an APM presidential marketing campaign Town Hall Meeting for the South-South, insisted that he stands by his earlier declare that the federal authorities has not launched the quantity as a consequence of states and native governments from the NLNG dividends.
NGF
Abdullahi mentioned the Forum had not issued any press launch or message regarding the alleged reconciliation.
“To put the record straight, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum NGF) did not put out any press release or message regarding any reconciliation on NLNG dividends,” he mentioned.
He added that, for the reason that course of didn’t exist, there was nothing for the Forum to answer.
“The issue of the NLNG that surfaced in the media has been adequately responded to by the Federal Government, and I believe that will suffice,” he said.
The NGF’s response follows a public dispute between the Presidency and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde over alleged unpaid NLNG dividends to states and native governments.
Makinde had claimed that every state was entitled to about ₦250 billion in dividends which, based on him, had not been launched by the Federal Government.
The governor made the allegation on the 2027 Budget Stakeholders’ Consultative Engagement held on the Olola Ogunlana Hall, International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, on 16 October 2026.
He alleged that the funds wouldn’t be launched till after the 2027 basic elections and questioned why the election ought to take priority over tasks meant to enhance the state’s economic system.
The Presidency subsequently rejected the declare.
In a press release issued on 18 October 2026, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described the allegation that the Federal Government was withholding ₦250 billion in NLNG dividends for every state as false.
Onanuga defined that distributing ₦250 billion to every of the 36 states would quantity to ₦9 trillion, excluding the Federal Government, the Federal Capital Territory and the 774 native authorities areas.
He mentioned states obtain 26.72 per cent of distributable Federation Account income below the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) formulation.
According to him, for the states’ mixed share alone to succeed in ₦9 trillion, complete NLNG dividends paid into the Federation Account must exceed ₦33.68 trillion, equal to about $25 billion, in a single declaration.
The Presidency maintained that NLNG had by no means paid $25 billion in dividends to the Federation Account in a single payout.
Onanuga additionally mentioned NLNG had paid roughly $21.5 billion in dividends to the Federation over the previous 25 years, with lower than $3 billion realised since President Bola Tinubu assumed workplace.
However, in a subsequent response, Makinde, by his Special Adviser on Media, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, maintained that the Presidency had not addressed the central challenge of how the dividends had been distributed among the many three tiers of presidency.
Olanrewaju claimed that the NGF, with the help of the Federal Government, had engaged a guide to reconcile NLNG dividend funds and that the train recognized a shortfall of about ₦9 trillion as a consequence of states and native governments.
He additional claimed that the Federal Government had accepted the findings and that the report remained within the custody of each the federal government and the NGF.
The Oyo State Government consequently challenged the Presidency to elucidate how the roughly $3 billion in NLNG dividends reportedly obtained below the present administration had been distributed.
It additionally sought a breakdown of the quantities obtained by states and native governments and the idea for calculating their respective shares.
Against this backdrop, LEADERSHIP requested the NGF to substantiate whether or not the reconciliation report existed and whether or not it could publish the doc or make it accessible to the newspaper.
The Forum was additionally requested to determine the guide who allegedly performed the train, disclose who commissioned it and make clear whether or not the report had been formally submitted to the Federal Government.
Other questions involved the report’s alleged findings, notably whether or not the ₦9 trillion determine associated completely to states or coated states and native governments mixed.
The newspaper additional sought documentary proof to help the declare that the Federal Government had accepted the findings, together with any official letter, assembly minutes or signed communiqué.
In his response, nevertheless, Abdullahi didn’t present particulars on the alleged guide, the report’s findings or its purported submission to the Federal Government.
Instead, he reiterated that the NGF had issued no assertion on any reconciliation of NLNG dividends and maintained that no such course of existed.
The spokesperson referred the newspaper to the Federal Government’s response to the controversy, saying it had adequately addressed the matter.
Makinde Tells FG To Provide Amount Meant For States, LGs
Speaking on the APM South-South city corridor assembly in Uyo yesterday, Makinde mentioned he stands by his earlier declare that the Federal Government has withheld nearly ₦250 billion as a consequence of every state from NLNG dividend funds.
“I said the Federal Government has withheld almost ₦250bn due to each state from Nigeria LNG dividend payments. Rather than come out and tell us what has been happening to dividends paid by Nigeria LNG, they said, ‘No, Governor Makinde, you be careful. You should not say things that are not true,’” Makinde mentioned.
“I stand by what I have said. The records are there. The papers are there.”
Makinde clarified that his declare doesn’t confer with a one-off fee.
“I didn’t say it was a one-off fee that’s because of the states. They ought to pay attention, and pay attention very rigorously. What I mentioned is that, through the years, together with throughout this administration, the Federal Government has been spending alone the dividends paid by Nigeria LNG into the Federation Account.
“Anything that goes into the Federation Account, according to our Constitution, should be shared between the Federal Government, state governments and local governments. Let them provide the amounts meant for the states and local governments in Nigeria,” he mentioned.
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