Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has challenged the Presidency to explain how Nigeria LNG dividend receipts were distributed among the three tiers of government, maintaining that a reconciliation exercise identified about ₦9tn owed to states and local councils.
The governor’s response followed the Presidency’s rejection of his allegation that the Federal Government was withholding ₦250bn for each state until after the 2027 general elections.
Makinde made the original allegation on Friday at the 2027 Budget Stakeholders’ Consultative Engagement at the University of Ibadan. He said states had identified development projects to be funded from the expected payments but had been told the money would not be released before the elections.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga dismissed the allegation in a statement on Sunday, describing it as false and asking Nigerians to disregard it.
Onanuga argued that paying ₦250bn to each of the 36 states would require ₦9tn for the states alone, before accounting for the Federal Government, the Federal Capital Territory and local councils.
He said states receive 26.72 per cent of distributable Federation Account revenue. On that basis, he argued, their combined share could only reach ₦9tn if the total dividend declaration exceeded ₦33.68tn, or about $25bn.
According to the Presidency, NLNG had paid approximately $21.5bn in dividends to the federation over 25 years, with less than $3bn received under the Tinubu administration. It maintained that the company had never made a single dividend payment of $25bn.
Responding through his Special Adviser on Media, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, Makinde said the Presidency had failed to address the reconciliation exercise behind his claim.
His office said the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, with federal support, engaged a consultant to reconcile NLNG dividend payments. It alleged that the exercise identified about ₦9tn due to states and councils and that the Federal Government accepted the findings.
Makinde’s office said the reconciliation report remained with both the Federal Government and the governors’ forum.
It also asked whether states and local governments had received their shares of the dividends collected under Tinubu, how much they received and how the payments were calculated.
The governor’s office maintained that his figures had a basis and expressed readiness to provide further clarification. The Presidency’s position remained that the alleged ₦250bn entitlement for each state was inconsistent with the company’s dividend payments and the revenue-sharing calculation it presented.
Sources: Premium Times: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/918173-nlng-dividends-oyo-govt-challenges-presidency-to-explain-distribution-of-3bn-received-under-tinubu.html Channels Television: https://www.channelstv.com/2026/10/19/i-stand-by-my-claims-on-nlng-dividends-makinde-insists/ PUNCH: https://punchng.com/n250bn-nlng-row-presidency-faults-makinde-gov-demands-answers/
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