The Akwa Ibom State government yesterday justified how it used the 13 percent oil derivation refunds it got from the Federal Government as an oil-producing state.
Its Finance Commissioner, Mr. Linus Nkan, while addressing a news conference in Uyo, the state capital, said the state has received seven tranches of derivation funds since 2021.
According to him, the refunds were subsumed into the state’s annual budgets which have been used for key capital projects as the monthly allocations from the Federation Account have not been enough to fund the numerous projects initiated by the Governor Udom Emmanuel administration.
He said: “In 2021, the sum of N160, 000,000,000 was remitted to the state account. In 2022, the projected income from this source was N41, 434,000,000, but as of Q3, the sum of N26, 000,000,000 has been received.
“In line with proper financial record keeping and public finance transparency, the refund was reflected in the 2021 budget as “Other Exceptional Income: 13% derivation revenue arrears, which was revised to the tune of N193, 000,000,000; in 2022, the revised provision was N41, 434,000,000; in the 2023 Budget, the estimate for this line item is N100, 000,000,000.
“A simple calculation of these figures will reveal the sustainability disposition that guides the governance of our state.
“The agitation for the refund of the arrears which were deducted from the earnings due to the oil-bearing states was undertaken by the affected governors, directly and through their officers at the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), which agreed with the very detailed submission and calculated the sums accruing to the states.”
