The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, on Monday, confirmed that the last tranche of the Paris Club refunds, being the sum of N691.560 billion, had already been disbursed to states since March 2019 by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) after verifications.
The clarification followed some media reports last weekend that the federal government was set to release N691.560 billion as outstanding and final payment of the Paris Club refunds to the states.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja last Thursday, Ahmed had stated: “For the final phase of the Paris Club debt refunds, the total sum of N649.434 billion was verified by the ministry as the outstanding balance to be refunded to the state governments. The payments made by the CBN as at March 2019, is N691.560 billion. The increase in CBN payments partly arose from exchange rate differential at the point of payment. Although, some states still have outstanding balances, which will be refunded, in due course,” she had said.
However, in a statement issued in Abuja, yesterday by her media aide, Paul Ella Abechi, the minister noted that there is no longer any outstanding tranche of Paris Club refunds to be disbursed to states, “because the money has already been disbursed in March 2019.”
According to the statement, Ahmed’s clarification became necessary “following the news making the rounds in the media that soon states will receive disbursement of outstanding balance of the Paris Club debts on verification made amounting to a total sum of N691.560 billion by the ministry due to exchange rate differential at the point of payment instead of the total sum of N649.434 billion that was verified.” – Thisday.
As this fund is being disbursed to the states; it is equally good the finance ministry monitors the states to ensure the proper use of the fund.
This was the method former president, Obasanjo was using to check mate the excesses of the then governors.