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Nine oil producing states receive N625.43 billion in two years as oil derivation, subsidy, Sure-P refunds; N1.1trn still outstanding
Despite attempts to deny or downplay receipts of various huge sums of money from the President Muhammadu Buhari government, as sundry refunds, as revealed recently by Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, the Presidency has released details of the monies paid to the nine oil-producing states of the country in the last two years.
Following the expose by Gov. Wike, some of the affected states reluctantly accepted receiving some monies from the Federal Government, with some announcing sums far less than is now being revealed by the Presidency.
Questions are already being asked concerning what the states have done with the huge sums of money as several of them are still owing workers’ salaries, pensions and gratuities running into many months and have neither started nor completed any visible projects with the refunds. Indeed, some are known to have gone ahead to seek or acquire new loans without declaring to their people the fact of the receipt of the refunds.
Following the whistle blown by Wike, some commentators are insisting that the Federal Government should stop the release of more of the outstanding refunds to the present governors some of who are believed to be channeling the monies towards campaigns for elective offices or to private coffers.
The commentators are also urging the anti-graft agencies to begin to take scrupulous note of the released funds to be able to track how they are being expended and be ready to call the states’ governors to account for these particular monies and other resources of the states and local governments once they finish their tenures.
Workers, pensioners, state assembly members, civil society organisations, leaders and other stakeholders in the states are also expected to ask the affected governors questions as to what has become of the refunds, insisting on detailed explanations regarding how the monies have been expended, and where they do not get satisfactory answers, be ready to use their Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) to punish the affected governors during the upcoming elections before the anti-graft agencies move in.
According to a statement dated Friday, December 2, 2022, by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), “the nine oil-producing states received a total of N625.43 billion 13 percent oil derivation, subsidy and SURE-P refunds from the Federation Account in the last two years, 2021-2022.”
The states that received the refunds dating from 1999 to 2021, he said, are Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers.
The statement said further that data “obtained from the Federation Account Department, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, show that a total of 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.
“The States also got N64.8 billion as refund of the 13 per cent derivation fund on deductions made by NNPC without payment of derivation to Oil Producing States from 1999 to December.
“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 per cent derivation fund on withdrawal from ECA without deducting derivation from 2004 to 2019, Abia State received N4.8 billion with outstanding sum of N2.8 billion, Akwa-Ibom received N128 billion with outstanding sum of N77 billion, while Bayelsa got N92.2bn, leaving an outstanding of N55 billion.
“Cross River got a refund of N1.3 billion with a balance N792 million, Delta State received N110 billion, leaving a balance of N66.2 billion, Edo State received N11.3billion, with a balance of N6.8billion, Imo State, N5.5 billion, with an outstanding sum of N3.3 billion, Ondo State, N19.4 billion with an outstanding sum of N11.7bn while Rivers State was paid 103.6 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.
“On the 13 per cent derivation fund on deductions made by NNPC without payment of derivation, 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 State, N14.8 billion, Edo State, N2.2 billion, Imo State, N2.9, billion, Ondo State, N3.7 billion, and Rivers State, N12.8 billion.
“Meanwhile, the benefitting States shared N9.2billion in three instalments in April, August and November 2022 as refunds on the 13 per cent derivation exchange rate differential on withdrawal from the ECA.
“The three largest benefitting States were Akwa Ibom (N1.6billion), Delta State (N1.4billion) and Rivers State (N1.32billion).
“Similarly, 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. The refund, which is for all the states and local government councils, was paid on 10th November 2022.
“The Federation Account also paid N3.52billion each as refund to local government councils on withdrawals for subsidy and SURE-P from 2009 to 2015 on the same date in November.”
Shehu noted that “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.
“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.”
