FG withholds N12.7bn LG fund from states

Gbola Subair, Abuja - 19.03.2008

State governments which have been expecting the Presidency to release the N12.7 billion Association of Local Governments Of Nigeria (ALGON) Primary Health Centres Fund at this month’s meeting of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) were disappointed when the money was not released.

The governors’ representatives could not believe its when the Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Remi Babalola, told them that the money could not be released because President Umar Yar’Adua was yet to give a directive to that effect.

Mr. Babalola told the gathering that the Accountant General of the Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo, had confirmed that N3, 719,907,785.34 was currently held in escrow account with the Central Bank of Nigeria while N9, 002,005,379.06 was yet to be transferred by Bank PHB

On the N5.8billion released to the contractors who worked in various sites across the country, the minister said the National Economic Council had advised that it be looked into and any amount collected should be shared based on the value of work done in each local government area.

On claims from states on the Paris Club Debt exit, Mr. Babalola disclosed that the claims by Kwara, Adamawa and Taraba states regarding refunds were yet to be fully resolved, stressing that the Debt Management Office was still reconciling their claims.

“When it is finalised and the states have to be refunded, it would be done from subsequent sharing of the Excess Crude Account,” he said.