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2027: Your Claim Defies Logic – Presidency Accuses Makinde Of Peddling Falsehoods Over Alleged ₦9trn NLNG Dividend
2027: Your Claim Defies Logic – Presidency Accuses Makinde Of Peddling Falsehoods Over Alleged ₦9trn NLNG Dividend
The Presidency rejects Seyi Makinde’s claim that each of Nigeria’s 36 states is entitled to ₦250 billion in NLNG dividends allegedly being withheld until after the 2027 elections.
Makinde says Oyo State had already identified projects for its expected ₦250 billion and alleges the Federal Government has spent the money, questioning why an election should take priority over development needs.
Presidency puts the combined amount claimed for the 36 states at ₦9 trillion, arguing that the FAAC sharing formula would require NLNG to have paid more than ₦33.68 trillion into the Federation Account in a single declaration.
Dispute deepens the 2027 political confrontation as the Presidency accuses Makinde of making misleading claims since launching his presidential bid.
October 19, () – The Presidency, on Sunday, launched a blistering attack on Oyo State Governor and 2027 presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, accusing him of peddling falsehoods over an alleged ₦9 trillion Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) dividend said to be due to the 36 states of the federation.
At the centre of the escalating dispute is Makinde’s claim that each state was expecting ₦250 billion from NLNG dividends but that the Federal Government had decided to withhold the money until after the 2027 general election — an allegation the Presidency says “defies basic logic and economic reality.”
Makinde, speaking at the 2027 Budget Stakeholders’ Consultative Engagement at the Olola Ogunlana Hall, International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, said Oyo State had already planned projects around an expected ₦250 billion payment before being informed that the money would not be released until after the election.
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The governor also claimed that the Federal Government had spent the money, according to the State House statement responding to him.
“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.
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Makinde argued that the delay was hurting the ability of states to plan and finance infrastructure and other long-term development projects.
“Is the election more important than the people of Nigeria?” he asked.
He disclosed that Oyo State’s monthly wage bill had risen from ₦4.5 billion in 2019 to about ₦18 billion in 2026, while inflation had substantially increased the cost of executing major projects. He argued that timely release of the expected funds would help states cope with those pressures and sustain economic growth.
He said his administration had already identified projects expected to expand the Oyo economy and intended to deploy the anticipated NLNG proceeds to those projects.
Makinde also highlighted the financial pressures confronting his government, including the fourfold rise in Oyo’s monthly wage bill since 2019 and higher infrastructure costs caused by inflation.
The governor said infrastructure had been central to his administration’s economic strategy and argued that sustained investment had increased the value of assets across the state.
He disclosed that his government expected to implement about 30 percent of Oyo’s 2027 budget before a new administration takes office on May 29, 2027.
According to Makinde, projects captured in the state’s budgets over the last seven years had enjoyed about a 70 percent chance of implementation, while his government had moved towards a performance-driven budgeting system.
But in a State House statement issued on Sunday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, rejected Makinde’s allegation and challenged him to reconcile the ₦250 billion-per-state figure with the established Federation Account revenue-sharing formula and NLNG’s historical dividend payments.
“Makinde’s latest claim that the Federal Government is withholding the NLNG dividend windfall is false and should be disregarded”, Onanuga declared.
Presidency: Makinde’s Figures Don’t Add Up
Engr Seyi Makinde
The Presidency’s central counter-argument is that the scale of money implicit in Makinde’s claim is far greater than the ₦250 billion figure when multiplied across the federation. At ₦250 billion for each of the 36 states, the total amount allegedly due to the states would be ₦9 trillion.
And according to the Presidency, that ₦9 trillion would represent only the states’ portion, before the shares accruing to the Federal Government, Federal Capital Territory and the country’s 774 local government councils are considered.
Onanuga said that under the Federation Account Allocation Committee revenue-sharing formula, the states collectively receive 26.72 percent of distributable Federation Account revenue.
On that basis, the Presidency calculated that for the 36 states to receive a combined ₦9 trillion, the underlying NLNG dividend paid into the Federation Account would have to exceed ₦33.68 trillion, equivalent to about $25 billion, in a single declaration.
“NLNG has never paid $25 billion in dividends to the Federation Account in a single payout”, Onanuga said.
The Presidency further maintained that NLNG had paid approximately $21.5 billion in dividends to the Federation over the last 25 years, with less than $3 billion realised since President Bola Tinubu assumed office.
It, therefore, argued that Makinde’s alleged ₦9 trillion entitlement for states would require a single NLNG dividend payment greater than the amount it says the Federation itself has received from the company over roughly a quarter of a century.
“Therefore, 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 said.
Onanuga also linked the governor’s allegation to his presidential ambition.
“We expect Governor Makinde to be more measured in his public conduct and utterances. Since he embarked on his presidential bid, he has chosen to play politics by making misleading claims rather than presenting verifiable facts. Indeed, he has turned false, unguarded statements and claims into an art form”, Onanuga stated.
The Presidency also revisited Makinde’s earlier description of the increased flow of Federation Account revenue to states, including Oyo, as “voodoo”, portraying his latest NLNG allegation as part of what it considers a pattern of questionable claims about federal finances.
Onanuga acknowledged that Makinde was legally entitled to challenge for the presidency but said that right should not become a licence to make unsubstantiated allegations against the government.
“Under Nigerian law, Governor Makinde is free to pursue his presidential ambition. He should desist from making falsehoods and disinformation the hallmarks of his campaign.”
Onanuga urged Nigerians to disregard Makinde’s allegation, saying such claims “serve only to mislead citizens and stoke needless disaffection against the Federal authorities.”
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