A fierce political war of words has erupted between the Presidency and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde over allegations that the federal government is withholding ₦250 billion in Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) dividends due to each state. Governor Makinde, speaking through his campaign organization, claimed that individual states were slated to receive ₦250 billion from a massive NLNG dividend windfall to fund critical local infrastructure, but accused federal authorities of freezing the funds until after the 2027 general elections. In a swift counter-statement, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed the claims as mathematically absurd and politically motivated “voodoo economics.” The Presidency argued that distributing ₦250 billion to each of Nigeria’s 36 states would total over ₦9 trillion—a figure that far exceeds historical NLNG dividend declarations paid into the Federation Account. Onanuga urged the public to disregard the claims, while Makinde’s camp doubled down, challenging the federal government to publish a transparent, itemized breakdown of how multi-billion dollar oil and gas revenues have been disbursed among states and local government areas.
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