The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has stated that an “unverified source” suggested that state governors received N30bn each from the Federation Account.
Akpabio made the statement during a plenary session on Tuesday, saying that the N30bn allocation was intended to mitigate inflation and the escalating cost of food in their respective states.
In September 2023, the federal government disbursed N2bn to the governors as part of a N5bn loan offered to each state to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal.
The Senate President also revealed that in addition to the initial funds, an extra N30bn was also allocated to the governors through the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
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He, therefore, advised the governors to prudently utilize the funds to address the challenges posed by the high cost of food items and other pressing issues facing the country.
He said:
“I must say that unverified report has it that each of the state governments in the last few months has received additional N30 billion from Federal Inland Revenue Service outside their normal allocations from the Federation Account to assist them in ameliorating the food situation.
“We believed that every state government should utilise the funds received towards ensuring that food is available in the country.
“So, the state governments have a lot to do. They are closer to the people and I do not want to mention local government because most of the local governments are controlled by the state governors.
“My belief is that if the state government does what is needed, then the local government will be involved in sharing to make sure that these things get to the people. But we must not overlook the fact that Nigerians are not going to be interested in stories.
“Nigerians want to see action. Nigerians want to eat and we will provide food for them, there is no excuse. Despite what we met on ground.”
