The Presidency has accused Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde of spreading false information over his claim that the Federal Government is withholding ₦250bn in Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas dividends due to each of Nigeria’s 36 states. It argued that the figures were inconsistent with NLNG’s historical dividend payments and challenged the governor to provide verifiable financial records.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Makinde’s claim would mean a combined ₦9tn allocation for the states alone, excluding the Federal Government, the Federal Capital Territory and 774 local government councils. He described the amount as economically unrealistic under the existing revenue-sharing arrangement.
Makinde had made the allegation on Friday during the 2027 Budget Stakeholders’ Consultative Engagement at the University of Ibadan. He claimed the Federal Government had spent dividends belonging to the states and postponed their release until after the 2027 general election, despite Oyo State having identified projects to fund with its share.
Onanuga said states receive 26.72 per cent of distributable Federation Account revenue under the Federation Account Allocation Committee sharing formula. He argued that for the states’ collective share to reach ₦9tn, NLNG would have needed to declare dividends exceeding ₦33.68tn, a figure the Presidency said was unsupported by the company’s financial history.
The Presidency stated that NLNG had paid approximately $21.5bn in dividends to the Federation over the past 25 years, with less than $3bn realised since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in May 2023. It added that the alleged entitlement of ₦250bn per state would require a dividend payout of about $25bn, exceeding the company’s total dividend payments to the Federation over that period.
Onanuga maintained that NLNG had never paid $25bn in dividends to the Federation Account in a single payout. He dismissed the allegation that such a payment had been withheld, saying the claim contradicted the company’s historical records and basic economic realities.
The Presidency also linked the timing of Makinde’s allegation to his reported presidential ambition ahead of the 2027 election, accusing him of making misleading claims about federal revenue management. It urged the governor to support his statements with verifiable evidence and called on Nigerians to disregard the allegation, which it said could mislead the public and create unnecessary tension.
