ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State says it assessed only N44.7 billion out of the N240 billion due it from the 13 per cent derivation fund owed by the Federal Government.
The State commissioner for Finance, Fidelis Tilije, disclosed while briefing reporters at Government House, Asaba, the state capital.
This is coming against the backdrop of the Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike’s statement that President Muhammadu Buhari had released the 13 per cent derivation money owed to the Niger Delta States from 1999 to the present.
Governor Wike stated this during a project commissioning in Rivers while explaining where the money used in building the Law Campus in the state came from.
Wike’s claim, however, led to mixed reactions from some Nigerians, especially people from the Niger Delta States.
Tilije following this, has come out to explain that N240 billion was Delta’s share of the payment approved by President Muhammadu Buhari for the nine oil-producing States from 2004 to date.
According to him, the State government had initially applied for N150 billion bridging finance, which the federal government turned down to N100 billion from the expected Refund of N240 billion to meet payment of its legacy projects in the State.
“So, in a way, the state has accessed and utilised the N14.7 billion paid by the Federal Government and the N30 billion from the bridging finance for payment for ongoing projects,” he said.
The Commissioner further clarified that the total amount owed Delta with respect to the deductions was N240 billion and that the Federal Government had agreed to pay the money quarterly in five years.