Presidency dismisses Makinde’s claim of withheld N250bn NLNG dividends per state
Bayo Onanuga
Abdullateef Fowewe
The Presidency has rejected as false and misleading Governor Seyi Makinde’s allegation that the Federal Government is withholding ₦250 billion in Nigeria LNG (NLNG) dividends due to each state and delaying payment until after the 2027 general elections.
In a Statehouse press statement issued on Sunday, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, said Makinde’s claim “is false and should be disregarded.”
Makinde made the allegation on Friday during the 2027 Budget Stakeholders’ Consultative Engagement at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan.
He stated that each state was entitled to ₦250 billion from NLNG dividends paid into the Federation Account, that figures had been reconciled, but that the Federal Government had spent the money and would only release it after the elections.
“Each state was supposed to get ₦250 billion. We had already identified projects that would expand Oyo State’s economy. But they have now said the money will not be paid until after the election. Is the election more important than the people of Nigeria?” Makinde said.
In related remarks, he accused the Tinubu administration of having “cornered” the funds, adding, “They fooled us. The Nigeria LNG paid dividends to the Federal Government, which went straight into the Federation Account, but they spent it.”
The Presidency countered the figures with a breakdown of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) sharing formula.
According to the statement, states receive 26.72% of distributable revenue. For the 36 states alone to receive ₦9 trillion (₦250 billion each), total NLNG dividends paid into the Federation Account would need to exceed ₦33.68 trillion about $25 billion in a single payout.
“NLNG has never paid $25 billion in dividends to the Federation Account in a single payout,” the statement said.
It noted that NLNG has paid approximately $21.5 billion in dividends to the Federation over the past 25 years, with less than $3 billion realised since President Tinubu assumed office.
“Any claim that a single payout exceeds the company’s entire lifetime distribution to the Federation — and is being withheld — defies basic logic and economic reality,” Onanuga stated.
The statement urged Makinde, who has declared presidential ambitions, to be “more measured in his public conduct and utterances” and to desist from making “falsehoods and disinformation the hallmarks of his campaign.”
It referenced a previous remark by the governor describing large Federation Account flows to states as “voodoo.”
NLNG is Nigeria’s major liquefied natural gas producer.
The Federal Government, through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), holds a 49% stake.
Dividends attributable to the government are paid into the Federation Account and shared among the federal government, states, and local governments according to the statutory FAAC formula.
Makinde, the Oyo State governor and a declared presidential aspirant under the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), raised the issue while discussing state budget planning and infrastructure needs.
The Presidency’s response frames the claim as politically motivated ahead of the 2027 elections rather than a reflection of actual NLNG payouts or Federation Account management.
