Governors have denied a claim by Senate President Godswill Akpabio that the Federal Government disbursed N1.08tn to states to address the food crisis in the country.
During the inauguration of the renovated central mosque in the Iseyin area of Oyo State on Thursday, the state Governor, Seyi Makinde, said as the Vice-Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, he could attest to the fact that state governors did not receive N30bn each as claimed by the Senate President.
Also, officials of Lagos, Zamfara, Benue, Osun, Katsina, and Enugu states told our correspondent on Thursday that their state governments did not receive N30bn.
State governments had in September 2023 received N2bn each out of the N5bn loan offered to them by the Federal Government as a palliative to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy.
The economic reforms, including the subsidy removal implemented by the Federal Government, had precipitated a cost of living crisis across the country following higher transport costs, food inflation, and the plummeting value of the naira.
Speaking during the plenary on Tuesday, Akpabio said an unconfirmed report indicated that state governors received N30bn each from the Federation Account to ameliorate inflation and the high cost of food in their respective states.
“I must say that an unverified report has it that each of the state governments in the last few months has received additional N30bn from Federal Inland Revenue Service outside their normal allocations from the Federation Account to assist them in ameliorating the food situation,” he reportedly said.
The senate president, Akpabio, advised the governors to utilise the funds judiciously to reduce the high cost of food items and other challenges facing the country.
However, the Vice-Chairman of the NGF, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, at Iseyin, denied receiving N30bn from the central government.
Speaking on behalf of other governors, Makinde wondered why the President of the Senate would rely on an unconfirmed report.
