The Presidency has rejected Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde’s claim that the Federal Government is withholding ₦250bn in Nigeria LNG Limited dividends for each state until after the 2027 general elections.
In a statement issued on Sunday, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described the allegation as false and urged Nigerians to disregard it.
Makinde made the claim during the 2027 Budget Stakeholders’ Consultative Engagement at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, where he said the expected funds would have enabled states to implement projects aimed at expanding their economies.
“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,” the governor was quoted as saying.
He questioned whether the 2027 election was being prioritised over the welfare and development needs of Nigerians.
However, the Presidency disputed the amount, arguing that a distribution of ₦250bn to each of Nigeria’s 36 states would total ₦9tn, excluding the Federal Government, the Federal Capital Territory and the 774 local government areas.
Onanuga said that, using the Federation Account allocation formula cited in the statement, states receive 26.72 per cent of distributable Federation Account revenue.
On that basis, the states’ combined share would reach ₦9tn only if the total distributable revenue from the relevant NLNG dividend payment exceeded approximately ₦33.68tn, according to the Presidency’s calculation.
The statement maintained that NLNG had never paid $25bn in dividends into the Federation Account in a single payout.
The Presidency further said NLNG had paid approximately $21.5bn in dividends to the Federation over 25 years, with less than $3bn realised since Tinubu assumed office.
The figures cited by Onanuga distinguish dividends paid to the Federation from NLNG’s total dividends to all shareholders. In July 2026, NLNG Chief Executive Officer Adeleye Falade was reported as saying the company had paid $47.2bn in cumulative dividends to its shareholders since commencing operations. That company-wide figure includes payments to shareholders beyond the Federal Government.
The Federal Government holds a 49 per cent stake in NLNG, while other shareholders include international energy companies. The distinction is relevant because the total dividends paid by the company are not the same as the amount received by the Federation.
The Presidency accused Makinde of making misleading claims and said the governor should be more measured in his public statements. It also urged Nigerians to disregard the allegation that a ₦250bn-per-state dividend payment was being withheld until after the election.
Makinde, who has declared his intention to contest the 2027 presidential election under the Allied People’s Movement, had argued that the expected funds would support projects already identified by his administration in Oyo State.
The dispute centres on whether a specific dividend distribution of the size claimed by Makinde was due to the states and whether any such payment had been delayed.
While the Presidency has challenged the amount using its account of the revenue-sharing formula and historical dividend payments, the figures in its statement do not, on their own, provide a complete transaction-by-transaction reconciliation of NLNG dividends paid into the Federation Account and subsequent distributions to states.
A definitive assessment of any outstanding payment would require the relevant dividend declarations, receipts into the Federation Account, applicable deductions and allocations, and records showing what was distributed to the three tiers of government.
The disagreement comes as state governments prepare their 2027 budgets and political activities intensify ahead of the general elections.
