*Report by Mudasir Opeyemi
The presidency has released the details of 13% derivation refunds to Niger Delta and other oil producing states which showed that Akwa-Ibom and Bayelsa got lion share of the monies.
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.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu disclosed this in a statement on Friday saying that N1.1 trillion is still yet to be repaid to the states.
According to him, the beneficiary states include Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers.
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State had in November while speaking at the inauguration of the Nabo Graham Douglas campus of the Nigerian Law School in Rumueme, Port Harcourt, disclosed and commended President Buhari for approving the payment of the 13% derivation funds for Niger Delta States from 1999.
Wike said the money has been the major source of infrastructural development of his administration.
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According to him, while other presidents since 1999 held on to the 13 percent derivation funds, Buhari approved its release.
“Let me say it for the first time. So many people asked me: ‘where is he getting this money’? Let me say it. I want, through the Attorney-General of the Federation, to thank Mr President. Monies that were not paid to the Niger Delta states since 1999, the 13 percent deductions,monies that were not paid, Mr President approved and paid all of us from the Niger Delta states.
“And for me, it would be unfair not to tell the public. It is not from FAAC money. It is the money that is supposed to be for Rivers, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Edo, and Bayelsa states. Yesterday, we commissioned the ninth flyover. In December, we will commission the tenth flyover. By February next year, we will commission eleventh and twelfth flyovers.
“So, I want to sincerely from the heart and on behalf of the government and people of the state, thank Mr President for this, because as an opposition government, he could have said ‘don’t pay’. You can’t do anything. Since 1999, the money has not been paid. Did we do anything? So, I want to sincerely thank him,” Wike had said
Wike,however,challenged his colleagues from the region to account for the funds.
The revelation has since unsettles the region as some governors acknowledged the claim while some claimed that they were underpaid
Reacting to the development, Shehu said acknowledgment of the refunds by Wike and other governors was not out of place adding that the refunds to the oil producing states would continue irrespective of political affiliations.
“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.”
Giving the details of how the monies were disbursed to those states,Shehu said according to the data obtained from the federation account department, office of the accountant-general of the federation,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 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 percent 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 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 N9.2billion 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 (N1.6billion), Delta State (N1.4billion) and Rivers State (N1.32billion).”
Shehu said that 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.
“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,” he added