Precious Nwonu, Enugu

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has asked the Federal Government to disclose how it distributed nearly $3bn in dividends received from Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in 2023.

Makinde’s demand followed the Presidency’s rejection of his allegation that states and local governments had been denied their rightful shares of the dividends, resulting in an estimated shortfall of about ₦9tn.

The Presidency, through the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed the governor’s claim as false and urged Nigerians to disregard it.

Onanuga argued that for states alone to be owed ₦9tn, the total dividends paid into the Federation Account would have to exceed ₦33.68tn, or approximately $25bn, in a single declaration.

He maintained that NLNG had never paid such an amount in one instalment, adding that the company had distributed about $21.5bn in dividends to the Federation over the past 25 years, with less than $3bn received since Tinubu took office.

However, Makinde, through his Special Adviser on Media, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, said the Presidency had not addressed the central issue of how the dividends were shared among the federal, state and local governments.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Olanrewaju disclosed that the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, with support from the Federal Government, had engaged a consultant to reconcile NLNG dividend payments.

According to him, the exercise identified an alleged shortfall of about ₦9tn owed to states and local governments, and the Federal Government had accepted the findings.

“The report remains in the custody of both the Federal Government and the NGF. We trust the Presidency will not deny its existence,” the statement said.

Olanrewaju argued that the Presidency’s disclosure of the total dividends received since NLNG began operations did not establish whether state and local governments had received their respective allocations.

“The Presidency stated that NLNG had paid $21.5 billion in dividends into the Federation Account since inception, including $3 billion received under the current administration. But it did not explain how these funds were disbursed,” he said.

He challenged the Federal Government to disclose how much each tier of government received and the basis for calculating the allocations.

“Have states and local governments received their shares? How much did they receive, and how were those amounts calculated? What happened to the $3 billion received under this administration?” he asked.

The governor’s aide defended Makinde’s position, insisting that the governor’s public statements were based on available information and were not made without justification.

He said Makinde “conducts public discourse with decorum and does not make unfounded claims or quote figures without a basis”.

Olanrewaju urged the Presidency to respond directly to the questions surrounding the reconciliation exercise and the distribution of the dividends.

NLNG produces and exports liquefied natural gas and related products. Its shareholders include the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Shell, TotalEnergies and Eni.