TheCable

The presidency says nine oil-producing states received a total of N625.43 billion as 13 percent oil derivation, subsidy and SURE-P refunds from the federation account between 2021 and 2022.

Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.

The presidential spokesperson said N1.1 trillion was yet to be repaid to the states.

According to Shehu, the states include Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers.

Last week, Nyesom Wike, Rivers state governor, disclosed that the projects he recently inaugurated were financed with the state’s share of the 13 percent derivation arrears paid by the federal government to all the Niger Delta states.

Wike further challenged other governors to account for the funds.

Accordingly, the Bayelsa state government acknowledged that it also received its derivation arrears but claimed it was underpaid by the federal government.

The Akwa Ibom state government also confirmed receipt of N186 billion derivation arrears.

Reacting to the development, Shehu said the acknowledgment of the refunds by Wike and other governors was not out of place.

He assured that the refunds to the oil-producing states would continue.

“President Buhari considers it a matter of honour and decency that debts owed to states or anyone for that matter be repaid, and in time without regards to their partisan political affiliations,” Shehu said.

“The president will continue to render equal service to all the states of the federation and an acknowledgment of this by governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state and the others is not out of place.

“The refunds to the oil-producing states will continue.”

AKWA IBOM GETS BIGGER SHARE

Citing data obtained from the federation account department, office of the accountant-general of the federation, Shehu said N477.2 billion was released to the nine states as refund of the 13 percent derivation fund on withdrawal from excess crude account (ECA) without deducting derivation from 2004 to 2019, leaving an outstanding balance of N287.04 billion.

Shehu said the states also got N64.8 billion as refund of the 13 percent derivation fund on deductions made by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) without payment of derivation to oil-producing states from 1999 to December.

He said the benefitting states still have an outstanding balance of N860.59 billion windfall from the refunds, which was approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.

“According to the figures, under the 13 percent derivation fund on withdrawal from ECA without deducting derivation from 2004 to 2019, Abia received N4.8 billion with outstanding sum of N2.8 billion, Akwa Ibom received N128 billion with outstanding sum of N77 billion, Bayelsa with N92.2bn, leaving an outstanding of N55 billion,” Shehu said.

“Cross River got a refund N1.3 billion with a balance N792 million, Delta state received N110 billion, leaving a balance of N66.2 billion, Edo received N11.3 billion, with a balance of N6.8 billion, Imo, N5.5 billion, with an outstanding sum of N3.3 billion, Ondo N19.4 billion with an outstanding sum of N11.7 billion, while Rivers was paid N103.6 billion, with an outstanding balance of N62.3 billion.

“The states were paid in eight instalments between October 2, 2021 and January 11, 2022, while the ninth to twelfth instalments are still outstanding.

DERIVATION DEDUCTIONS BY NNPC

On the 13 percent derivation fund on deductions made by NNPC without payment of derivation, the presidential spokesperson said the nine oil producing states were paid in three instalments this year, with the remaining 17 instalments outstanding.

“Under this category, Abia state received N1.1 billion, Akwa Ibom, N15 billion, Bayelsa, N11.6 billion, Cross River, N432 million, Delta N14.8 billion, Edo N2.2 billion, Imo N2.9 billion, Ondo state N3.7 billion, and Rivers N12.8 billion.

“Meanwhile, the benefitting states shared N9.2 billion in three instalments in April, August and November 2022 as refunds on the 13 percent derivation exchange rate differential on withdrawal from the ECA.

“The three largest benefitting states were Akwa Ibom (N1.6 billion), Delta state (N1.4 billion) and Rivers state (N1.32 billion).”

Shehu also said all the nine states received N4.7 billion each, totalling N42.34 billion as refunds on withdrawals for subsidy and SURE-P from 2009 to 2015.

He explained that the refund, which is for all the states and local government councils, was paid on November 10, 2022.

Shehu added that the federation account also paid N3.52 billion each as refund to local government councils on withdrawals for subsidy and SURE-P from 2009 to 2015 on the same date in November.