In what has been shrouded in secrecy until recently when some critics began to mount pressure on Akwa Ibom State government to give account of the 13% oil derivation accrued to the State, the figure of arrears of money received from the Federal between 2021 and Q3 of the 2022 has been released.
While addressing journalists in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital on Monday, the State Finance Commissioner Linus Nkan, said the sum of N186 billion arrears between 2021 and Q3 2022 was received by Akwa Ibom State government.
The disclosure which was the second time in a week was at the backdrop of public demand. This is after the State government had previously referred those interested in knowing the accounts of the Akwa Ibom State to the State Accountant General’
The state government, through Mr. Nkan, initially referred those who asked questions about the arrears to the state budget and the Accountant General’s 2021 report.
Mr. Nkan, for more than a week, has refused PREMIUM TIMES requests for comment on the matter.
Before, different figures circulated on the internet, such as the amount paid to the State for the 13 percent delay in the referral.
Governors of Nigeria’s Niger Delta region have been under pressure to disclose the amount paid to their states as diversion arrears, after Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike revealed on November 18 that part of the money from his state is what his administration had been using to implement various multi-million dollar projects in the state.
Wike’s comment “it would be unfair not to tell the public” made it appear that other governors in the region had withheld information about their receipt of money paid to them by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Later, Governor Rivers, during a banquet hosted in Port Harcourt by the People’s Democratic Party in Rivers State for the G5 governors, challenged other governors from the Niger Delta region to point out what they have been doing with money received from the federal government. , according to a report by Canales TV.
The challenge put governors in the crosshairs and triggered a demand for accountability.
reactions
Fidelis Tilije, Finance Commissioner in Delta state, in his reaction, said that the state would accumulate N240 billion as diversion arrears, and that the state has so far received only N14.7 billion in three tranches of N4.9 billion each.
Mr Tilije said the Delta state government, with the approval of the House of Assembly, requested N100 billion from the bank, with repayment linked to expected diversion fund arrears.
“So far, we have received N14.7 billion in three quarterly installments and have also accessed N30 billion of the N100 billion we requested as bridge financing,” he said.
In Edo, the state government said it received only N2.1 billion of the N28 billion accumulated by the state.
“The net amount will reach each state over five years in 20 tranches. Each year, you will have quarterly shipments, which is four shipments each year for more than five years. Due to some court cases from some states, the launches started this year, October 2022,” said Edo State Finance and Budget Commissioner Joseph Eboigbe.
“The Edo state government got three tranches of N700 million per quarter, which is equivalent to N2.1 billion of the N28 billion. It is verifiable.
“We expect 20 quarterly tranches over five years, but so far, we’ve only gotten three out of 20 and it’s verifiable. We have the records of how the money is spent,” he added.
Akwa Ibom
The finance commissioner in Akwa Ibom, Mr Nkan, said the state had received N160 billion as diversion arrears in 2021 alone.
Nkan also said that the state government projected N41.4 billion in the 2022 budget as bypass arrears, of which it received N26 billion for the third quarter of this year.
The finance commissioner said again that 100 billion naira was estimated in the 2023 budget as bypass arrears, but did not explain the fluctuations in the amount.
For example, N160 billion was received in 2021, but the state government estimated a lower amount: N41.4 billion in the 2022 budget, but in the 2023 budget, the amount increased more than one hundred percent to N100 billion. compared to the 2022 figure.
He reportedly admitted that the state government obtained bank loans, but did not disclose the amount and whether the full amount accrued by the state as bypass arrears was obtained as loans.
Nkan told reporters that the House of Assembly had approved the loans.
policy alertA nonprofit organization that focuses on promoting economic and ecological justice, raised the alarm Friday that the state government may have obtained loans from the bank in 2021 without informing the public.
Tijah-Bolton Akpan, the organization’s executive director, was speaking to reporters in the context of the state government’s refusal to make public the amount received as diversion arrears.
Last year, the organization alleged that the state government received N171.2 billion under the subheading “13 per cent of arrears bypass revenue during the third quarter of 2021,” an allegation that the state’s governor, Udom Emmanuel, denied in February 2022 according to the Business Day newspaper. report.
But the finance commissioner, Mr. Nkan, confirmed the claim made by the non-profit organization, albeit with differences in the figures.
“In 2021, the sum of 160 billion was remitted to the State account. In 2022, the projected income from this source was 41,434,000,000, but as of Q3 (third quarter), the sum of 26 billion has been received.
“Consistent with the proper maintenance of financial records and transparency of public finances, the refund was reflected in the 2021 budget as ‘Other Exceptional Revenue: 13% Bypass Revenue Arrears,’ which was reviewed by a sum of 193,000,000,000; in 2022 the revised provision was 41,434,000,000; in the 2023 budget, the estimate for this item is 100,000,000,000. A simple calculation of these figures will reveal the mindset of sustainability that guides the governance in our State.
