In its efforts to set records
straight, the Federal Government yesterday released a state- by -state
breakdown of the first tranche of Paris Club refunds paid to date.
So far, N516, 384,636,883.81 has been disbursed to the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Abia got N11, 431,531,742.97 while Zamfara was paid N10, 884,771,188.99.
FCT got N1, 369,735,000.09.
According to the Minister of Finance,
Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, the disbursement followed the approval of President
Muhammadu Buhari on November 21, 2016 in partial settlement of long
standing claims by state governments relating to over-deductions from
their Federation Account allocation for external debt service arising
between 1995 and 2002.
“These debt service deductions are in
respect of the Paris Club, London Club and multilateral debts of the FG
and states. While Nigeria reached a final agreement for debt relief with
the Paris Club in October 2005, some states had already been
overcharged.
“The funds were released to state
governments as part of the wider efforts to stimulate the economy and
were specifically designed to support states in meeting salary and other
obligations, thereby alleviating the challenges faced by workers. The
releases were conditional upon a minimum of 50 per cent being applied to
the payment of workers’ salaries and pensions. The Federal Ministry of
Finance is reviewing the impact of these releases on the level of
arrears owed by state governments”, she explained.
The minister further noted that a
detailed report was being compiled for presentation to the acting
President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, as part of the process for approval
for the release of any subsequent tranches.
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