A total of N1.98 trillion has been paid out by the federal government as its share of the 13% backlog in oil derivation payments to oil-producing states.
The Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Budget, Zainab Ahmed, revealed this at the sixth edition of the Muhammadu Buhari administration scorecard on Thursday,
Despite some of the funds having been allocated before the present government, she claimed that the total was paid in seven years.
She said, “One of the key functions of the Ministry of Finance Budget and National Planning is to support the states.
“We wouldn’t have been able to grow consistently without enabling the states to grow because it is a federation.
“He understands that the federating units need to work together as one to achieve the targets that he has set for the country. So everybody goes to support sub-national governments.
“In seven years, we have disbursed N1.98 trillion in funds to oil-producing states.”
According to earlier reports, after remarks by Nyesom Wike, the Governor of Rivers State, alleging that the oil-producing states have refused to disclose their share of the 13% derivation arrears paid by the Federal Government from 1999 to all the Niger Delta States, the 13% derivation fund became a contentious topic.
