The Presidency has brushed aside claims through Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde that the Federal Govt is withholding N250 billion in Nigeria Liquefied Herbal Fuel (NLNG) dividends supposed for each and every of the 36 states, describing the allegation as false and inconsistent with the corporate’s monetary information.
The Particular Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Knowledge and Technique, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a remark issued on Sunday, October 18, 2026.
The reaction adopted feedback made through Makinde, the Allied Peoples Motion (APM) presidential candidate for the 2027 common election, right through the 2027 Funds Stakeholders’ Consultative Engagement held on the College of Ibadan on Friday, October 16.
Presidency demanding situations Makinde’s N250 billion declare
In line with the Presidency, dividends accruing to the Federation from NLNG are topic to revenue-sharing preparations a few of the 3 tiers of presidency, making Makinde’s declare of N250 billion for each and every state financially improbable.
Onanuga defined that distributing N250 billion to Nigeria’s 36 states will require N9 trillion for the states by myself, except for allocations to the Federal Govt, FCT and native governments.
- “For the states’ proportion by myself to succeed in N9 trillion, overall NLNG dividends paid into the Federation Account must exceed N33.68 trillion (about $25 billion) in one declaration,” the remark reads partially.
Beneath the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) formulation cited through the Presidency, states obtain 26.72% of distributable Federation Account profit.
The Presidency said:
- “NLNG hasn’t ever paid $25 billion in dividends to the Federation Account in one payout.”
The Presidency additional disclosed that NLNG had paid roughly $21.5 billion in dividends to the Federation over 25 years, with lower than $3 billion gained since Tinubu assumed place of job in Might 2023.
It argued that Makinde’s allegation implied a unmarried dividend distribution exceeding the corporate’s cumulative bills to the Federation.
Makinde questions withheld NLNG dividends
The debate started after Makinde accused the Federal Govt of withholding considerable NLNG dividend bills allegedly earmarked for infrastructure and financial building throughout Nigeria’s states.
Talking right through the funds stakeholders’ engagement in Ibadan, the governor wondered the verdict to lengthen the alleged bills till after the 2027 common election.
- The governor maintained that his management had prioritised infrastructure building as a basis for financial enlargement, arguing that investments in essential infrastructure had greater asset values throughout Oyo State.
The dispute additionally comes amid broader issues about Nigeria’s talent to maximize profit from its herbal fuel assets, specifically via commercialisation and decreased fuel flaring.
In 2025, Nigeria flared roughly 203.9 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas, in spite of utilising 92.4% of its overall fuel manufacturing.
NLNG information $150 billion profit
Nigeria LNG Restricted (NLNG) is a herbal fuel processing and export corporate collectively owned through the Nigerian executive, via NNPC Restricted, and world power firms, together with Shell, TotalEnergies and Eni.
The Nigerian executive holds a 49% stake, whilst the rest 51% belongs to world shareholders. The corporate processes herbal fuel into liquefied herbal fuel for export, producing profit from which income may also be dispensed as dividends.
- All the way through a gathering with the corporate’s board on the State Space, NLNG Managing Director Adeleye Falade disclosed that the corporate had generated over $150 billion in cumulative profit since inception, with shareholders jointly receiving roughly $47 billion in dividends.
In 2024, Nigeria recorded a 12% build up in fuel flaring, the second-largest increase globally, reinforcing issues in regards to the financial and environmental prices of unutilised fuel assets.