December 01, (THEWILL) – The Federal Government on Thursday said it has supported States of the federation with a total sum of N5.03 trillion and an additional US$3.4 billion since 2015.
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, who made this known at the presentation of President Muhammadu Buhari Administration scorecard (2015-2023), said the support covers a 13% Derivation Refund to Oil Producing States, refunds for the Construction of Federal Roads, and Ecological Support, among others.
She also faulted claims that Nigeria is broke, insisting that the country continues to disburse funds to the three tiers of government from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).
She said the Federal Government has so far released N1.7trillion for capital projects as of September 2022.
Ahmed noted that Nigeria has not in any way defaulted in the repayment of its domestic and foreign debt.
The Minister spoke amid reported cases of oil theft and a drop in oil revenue in the country.
However, Ahmed said oil production has increased to 1.4million barrels per day as of October 2022.
“With respect to subnational governments, the FMFBNP goes over and above its statutory role to provide financial support to States:
“A total of N5.03 trillion plus an additional US$3.4 billion has been released to States by the Federal Government over the life of this administration.
“Each of these payments has distinct repayment terms with some given as grants and others as loans with favourable repayment terms including a long amortisation period.
“The support covers the 13% Derivation Refund to Oil Producing States, refunds for Construction of Federal Roads, Ecological support, support from the Development of Natural Resources Fund, Paris Club refunds, support from the Stabilisation Fund, COVID intervention amongst others”, she said.
