Alleged Withholding of N250 Billion: Presidency urges citizens to ignore Makinde for peddling falsehood

The presidency has reacted to claims by the governor of Oyo State that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has withheld the sum of N250 billion dividends from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG due to each 36 States of the Federation till after the 2027 general election.

Makinde had accused President Tinubu of spending the N250 billion without releasing it to States of the federation.

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Reacting in a statement on Sunday by the Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, he declared the statement as false and misleading.

Onanuga said what the NLNG had paid since Tinubu’s assumption of office in May 2023 was less than $3 billion in dividends, urging the citizens to ignore Makinde.

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The presidency insisted that President Tinubu never intentionally withheld or spent the money as claimed, challenged the governor to show evidence.

CAPITAL POST reports that Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State is serving out his second tenure of office on the mandate of the Peoples Democratic Party, but now a presidential candidate on the platform of the Allied Peoples Movement, APM in the 2027 general election.

Meanwhile, Makinde made the allegations on Friday while speaking at the 2027 Budget Stakeholders’ Consultative Engagement held at the Olola Ogunlana Hall, International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan.

He revealed: “Each state was supposed to get ₦250 billion. We had already identified projects that would expand Oyo State’s economy”, lamented that the Federal Government has decided not to pay before elections, wondering if the election was more important than the people.

Onanuga in the statement said Makinde’s latest claim that the federal government is withholding the NLNG dividend windfall is false and should be disregarded, urging the opposition governor to be circumspect as a public figure.

The presidency cautioned the governor to stop making misleading statements for political reasons.

The presidency released facts as follows:

“Here are the facts the public should know about how the Federation Account is managed and how money is shared among the three tiers of government.

Even as a one-off distribution, ₦250 billion to each of the 36 states amounts to ₦9.0 trillion, excluding the Federal Government, the FCT, and the 774 local councils.

“Under the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) formula, states receive 26.72% of the distributable Federation Account revenue. For the states’ share alone to reach ₦9 trillion, total NLNG dividends paid into the Federation Account would have to exceed ₦33.68 trillion (about $25 billion) in a single declaration.

“NLNG has never paid $25 billion in dividends to the Federation Account in a single payout.

“NLNG and Historical Dividend Context:

“NLNG has paid approximately $21.5 billion in dividends to the Federation over the last 25 years, with less than $3 billion realised since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office.

“Therefore, any claim that a single payout exceeds the company’s entire lifetime distribution to the Federation—and is being withheld—defies basic logic and economic reality.

“We expect Governor Makinde to be more measured in his public conduct and utterances. Since he embarked on his presidential bid, he has chosen to play politics by making misleading claims rather than presenting verifiable facts. Indeed, he has turned false, unguarded statements and claims into an art form.

“He once described the huge financial flow from the federation account to states, including Oyo, as ‘voodoo’.

“Under Nigerian law, Governor Makinde is free to pursue his presidential ambition. He should desist from making falsehoods and disinformation the hallmarks of his campaign.

“We urge the public to disregard these unfounded claims, which serve only to mislead citizens and stoke needless disaffection against the Federal authorities,” the statement read.

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