Nigeria ministry of Finance has announced the release of the sum of N243, 795,465,195.20 Paris Club refund to 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
This is another tranche of Paris Club refund which represents over-deductions on Paris Club, London Club Loans and Multilateral debts on the accounts of States and Local Governments from 1995-2002.
A statement from the ministry said that the payments were made to the states and FCT after the President had approval it on May 4, 2017.
Breakdown of the payment showed that Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Kano and Rivers states received the largest disbursements of N10 billion each.
The statement said that this second tranche of Paris Club refunds is a “partial settlement of long-standing claims by State Governments relating to over-deductions from their Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocation for external debt service arising between 1995 and 2002.”
The statement added that Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun explained that these debt service deductions were in respect of the Paris Club, London Club and Multilateral debts of the federal and State governments.
Adeosun was quoted as saying: “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.
According to the ministry, the releases were conditional upon a minimum of 75 per cent being applied to the payment of workers’ salaries and pensions for States that owe salaries and pension.
The ministry said that it is reviewing the impact of these releases on the level of arrears owed by State Governments, saying that a detailed report is 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.
The disbursements are contained in the table below:
| S/N | STATE | AMOUNT PAYABLE (NGN) |
| 1 | ABIA | 5,715,765,871.48 |
| 2 | ADAMAWA | 6,114,300,352.68 |
| 3 | AKWA-IBOM | 10,000,000,000.00 |
| 4 | ANAMBRA | 6,121,656,702.34 |
| 5 | BAUCHI | 6,877,776,561.25 |
| 6 | BAYELSA | 10,000,000,000.00 |
| 7 | BENUE | 6,854,671,749.25 |
| 8 | BORNO | 7,340,934,865.32 |
| 9 | CROSS RIVER | 6,075,343,946.93 |
| 10 | DELTA | 10,000,000,000.00 |
| 11 | EBONYI | 4,508,083,379.98 |
| 12 | EDO | 6,091,126,592.49 |
| 13 | EKITI | 4,772,836,647.08 |
| 14 | ENUGU | 5,361,789,409.66 |
| 15 | GOMBE | 4,472,877,698.19 |
| 16 | IMO | 7,000,805,182.97 |
| 17 | JIGAWA | 7,107,666,706.76 |
| 18 | KADUNA | 7,721,729,227.55 |
| 19 | KANO | 10,000,000,000.00 |
| 20 | KATSINA | 8,202,130,909.85 |
| 21 | KEBBI | 5,977,499,491.45 |
| 22 | KOGI | 6,027,727,595.80 |
| 23 | KWARA | 5,120,644,326.57 |
| 24 | LAGOS | 8,371,938,133.11 |
| 25 | NASARAWA | 4,551,049,171.12 |
| 26 | NIGER | 7,210,793,154.95 |
| 27 | OGUN | 5,739,374,694.46 |
| 28 | ONDO | 7,003,648,314.28 |
| 29 | OSUN | 6,314,106,340.62 |
| 30 | OYO | 7,901,609,864.25 |
| 31 | PLATEAU | 5,644,079,055.41 |
| 32 | RIVERS | 10,000,000,000.00 |
| 33 | SOKOTO | 6,441,128,546.76 |
| 34 | TARABA | 5,612,014,491.52 |
| 35 | YOBE | 5,413,103,116.59 |
| 36 | ZAMFARA | 5,442,385,594.49 |
| 37 | FCT | 684,867,500.04 |
| TOTAL | 243,795,465,195.20 |
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