The Presidency on Friday revealed that nine oil-producing states received N625.43bn as 13 per cent oil derivation, subsidy and SURE-P refunds from the Federation Account in the last two years, 2021-2022.
The states that received the refunds, according to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, dating from 1999 to 2021 are Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers.
The statement is titled ‘Oil derivation, subsidy and Sure-P refunds: Nine oil producing states receive N625.43bn in two years; N1.1trn still outstanding.’
The Presidency also noted that the Buhari-led regime would continue to render equal service to all the states regardless of affiliation and “an acknowledgment of this by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and the others is not out of place.”
Citing data obtained from the Federation Account Department, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, it said a total of N477.2bn was released to the nine states as refund of the 13 per cent derivation fund on withdrawal from Excess Crude Account without deducting derivation from 2004 to 2019, leaving an outstanding balance of N287.04bn.
The states also got N64.8bn as refund of the 13 per cent derivation fund on deductions made by NNPC without payment of derivation to oil-producing states from 1999 to December.
According to Shehu, the benefitting states still have an outstanding balance of N860.59bn windfall from the refunds, which was approved by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
From the figures, under the 13 per cent derivation fund on withdrawal from ECA without deducting derivation from 2004 to 2019, Abia State received N4.8bn with outstanding sum of N2.8bn; Akwa Ibom received N128bn with outstanding sum of N77bn, Bayelsa with N92.2bn, leaving an outstanding of N55bn.
Cross River got a refund N1.3bn with a balance N792m, Delta State received N110bn, leaving a balance of N66.2bn, Edo State received N11.3bn, with a balance of N6.8bn, Imo State, N5.5bn, with an outstanding sum of N3.3bn, Ondo State, N19.4bn with an outstanding sum of N11.7bn while Rivers State was paid 103.6bn, with an outstanding balance of N62.3bn.
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 per cent 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 N1.1bn, Akwa-Ibom, N15bn, Bayelsa, N11.6bn, Cross River, N432m, Delta State, N14.8bn, Edo State, N2.2bn, Imo State, N2.9bn, Ondo State, N3.7bn, and Rivers State, N12.8bn.
