Oyo Challenges Tinubu’s Government to Explain NLNG Dividend Sharing Amid ₦9tn Dispute

The Oyo State Government has renewed its demand for the Federal Government to explain how dividends paid by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) were distributed among the federal, state and local governments, citing an alleged ₦9 trillion shortfall identified in a reconciliation exercise.

The demand follows the presidency’s rejection of Governor Seyi Makinde’s claim that the Federal Government was withholding NLNG dividends due to states and local councils. In a statement issued through his Special Adviser on Media, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, Makinde said the presidential response had failed to address the central question of how the funds were shared.

According to the Oyo government, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), with support from the Federal Government, engaged a consultant to reconcile NLNG dividend payments. The exercise reportedly identified a shortfall of about ₦9 trillion owed to states and local governments, which the state government said the Federal Government had accepted.

Makinde said the reconciliation report remained in the custody of both the Federal Government and the NGF. He expressed confidence that the presidency would not deny the report’s existence and called for the findings to be addressed directly.

The dispute escalated after Makinde claimed that each state was entitled to about ₦250 billion in NLNG dividends allegedly withheld by the Federal Government. Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga rejected the claim on Sunday, arguing that the figures would imply a total distribution of ₦9 trillion to the 36 states alone.

Onanuga said states receive 26.72 per cent of distributable Federation Account revenue under the existing revenue-sharing formula. He argued that for the states’ combined share to reach ₦9 trillion, total NLNG dividends paid into the Federation Account would have to exceed ₦33.68 trillion, equivalent to about $25 billion, in a single declaration.

The presidency also said NLNG had paid approximately $21.5 billion in dividends to the federation over the past 25 years, with less than $3 billion received under President Bola Tinubu’s administration. The Oyo government countered that the presidency had not explained how the amount received during the current administration was distributed or how much each tier of government obtained.

“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?” the Oyo government asked in its statement.

The state government defended Makinde’s figures and urged the presidency to respond to the substance of the allegation, adding that it was prepared to provide further clarification. The dispute remains unresolved, with the reconciliation report and a detailed breakdown of the dividend payments central to determining whether any funds remain outstanding to states and local governments.