₦250bn Per State: If Tinubu’s Presidency Received the NLNG Billions, Where Is the States’ Share?
The Presidency has rejected Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde’s claim that the Federal Government is withholding ₦250 billion in Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) dividends for each state of the federation. But beyond the political exchange, one question deserves a clear and independently verifiable answer:
If the Federal Government actually received billions of dollars in NLNG dividends during the Tinubu administration, how much was paid into the Federation Account, and did the states receive the portion due to them under Nigeria’s revenue-allocation laws?
That is the real issue that should concern Nigerians.
At the 2027 Budget Stakeholders’ Consultative Engagement held at the Olola Ogunlana Hall of the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, on Friday, October 16, Governor Makinde claimed that each state was expected to receive ₦250 billion from an NLNG dividend windfall.
He said Oyo State had already identified projects that could expand its economy with the expected funds, but alleged that the Federal Government had indicated that the money would not be released until after the 2027 elections.
“Each state was supposed to get ₦250 billion,” Makinde said, questioning whether an election should be considered more important than the welfare of Nigerians.
The Presidency, through Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Information and Strategy, has strongly rejected the allegation, describing the ₦250 billion-per-state claim as false and urging Nigerians to disregard it.
The Presidency's arithmetic is straightforward. ₦250 billion multiplied by 36 states equals ₦9 trillion. Since states receive 26.72 percent of distributable Federation Account revenue under the existing vertical allocation formula, generating ₦9 trillion for the states alone would require approximately ₦33.68 trillion in distributable revenue.
But there is an important distinction that should not be lost in the political argument.
NLNG dividends are not automatically divided into equal ₦250 billion cheques for each state. Revenue that is legally payable into the Federation Account is distributed through the applicable revenue-sharing framework. States do not receive identical amounts because the horizontal allocation formula takes factors including equality, population, landmass and terrain, social development and internally generated revenue into consideration.
The existing framework provides 52.68 percent to the Federal Government, 26.72 percent to the states and 20.60 percent to local governments from net Federation Account revenue. VAT has a separate formula under which states receive 50 percent.
So, if an NLNG dividend payment was received by the Federation and classified as distributable Federation Account revenue, the legitimate question is not simply whether every state was entitled to ₦250 billion. The question is what amount entered the Federation Account, what deductions were made, what legal classification applied to the funds, and how much was subsequently distributed through FAAC.
Official FAAC records show that states continue to receive their allocations through the established process. For February 2026, for example, the Federal Ministry of Finance reported that ₦1.894 trillion was distributed to the three tiers of government, with ₦651.525 billion going to the states, ₦675.086 billion to the Federal Government and ₦456.467 billion to local governments.
The Presidency also says NLNG has paid approximately $21.5 billion in dividends to the Federation over about 25 years, with less than $3 billion realised since President Tinubu assumed office.
That figure, however, should itself be subjected to transparent documentation: when were those dividends declared, when were they actually received, where were they credited, and what portion was subsequently distributed through FAAC?
That is where the political argument should move from accusation to accountability.
The Constitution and revenue-allocation laws establish a framework for distributing money standing to the credit of the Federation Account. The Allocation of Revenue (Federation Account, etc.) Act also provides for monitoring and reporting of payments made to states.
Therefore, rather than allowing Nigerians to choose between two competing political narratives, the Federal Government can settle the controversy by publishing the relevant NLNG dividend receipts, dates of remittance, deductions, FAAC treatment and state-by-state distributions.
Governor Makinde is entitled to ask questions about money he believes should reach Oyo State. The Presidency is equally entitled to challenge the figures.
But Nigerians deserve the receipts.
If the money was never received, let the records show it. If it was received and distributed, let the figures be published. And if any amount legally due to the states remains outstanding, Nigerians should be told why.
The debate should therefore be bigger than Makinde versus Tinubu.
It should be about whether every naira legally belonging to Nigeria’s three tiers of government was properly accounted for and distributed according to law.
In a democracy, figures should not be settled by political rhetoric. They should be settled by the books.
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