Paris Club refunds: We’re still expecting second tranche —Govs

AGAINST reports that some states have started misapplying the second tranche of the Paris Club loans refunds, some state governors have disclosed that they are still expecting the money from the Federal Government.

The refunds, following the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari on November 21, 2016, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance, were in partial settlement of claims by state governments relating to over-deductions from their Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocation for external debt service between 1995 and 2002.

But there were discrepancies between what the Federal Ministry of Finance released, penultimate Friday, as details of the first tranche payment of N516,384,636,883.81 to all the states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and what the states said they got.

In some states, labour unions, pensioners and opposition politicians have started accusing their governors  of tampering with the second tranche. However, a number of state governments informed Saturday Tribune on Friday that the funds had not been released to them by the Federal Government.

 

Oyo State

The Oyo State government  said it received a sum of N12.236 billion as first tranche of the Paris Club refund.

The two inflows of the received sum are N7.206 billion and N5.03 billion respectively.

The state Commissioner for Finance and Budget, Mr Bimbo Adekanmbi, who disclosed this, said the N12.2 billion that accrued to the state was after the payment of about five percent deduction from source to consultants.

He pointed out that the state spent over 60 per cent of the first inflow on payment of salaries, while 100 percent of the second inflow was committed to the payment of salaries.

Adekanmbi, however, said the state expected the second tranche soon, although it was not yet clear the amount that would be given to the state.

 

Kwara State

The Kwara State government said it was yet to receive the second tranche of the refund.

The state Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Demola Banu, told Saturday Tribune that the amount to be released to the state would be made known after the Federal Government completes verification of claims submitted by states.

The commissioner said the state government had satisfied all the requirements specified by the Federal Ministry of Finance for the payment of the next instalment of the refund.

He urged members of the public to ignore speculations on the issue as the state government would inform them once the funds are received.

 

Delta State

The N27.60 billion announced to have been paid into the account of the Delta State government as refund from the Paris Club has not been received by the state government.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Charles Aniagwu, who made the claim, said: “They have not paid in the so-called money they are talking about. It has not come.”

Aniagwu wondered when and whom the Federal Government released the money to, stressing that no money had been released to anybody.

“They have not released money to anyone. When they release any money to us, we will see it in our hands.

“If you are doing a computation and you say this person is likely to get this, for instance, that does not conclude that the money is in your hands.

“If money comes to the state, it belongs to the state and we will make it public. Whatever money is given to us, we will tell the public how much we have got,” the governor’s spokesman said.

The Federal Ministry of Finance had announced that N27.60 billion was given to Delta State government as part of the Paris Club refund.

 

Ondo State

The Ondo State government said it had not received any payment from the Federal Government on the Paris Club refunds since the present administration came on board in February.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Segun Oni, who disclosed this, said the payment was made to the administration of the immediate past governor of the state, Dr Olusegun Mimiko.

According to Oni, there had been no record of such payment to the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration in the state.

However, the immediate past Commissioner for Information, Mr Kayode Akinmade, confirmed that Governor Mimiko’s administration received a sum of N6.5 billion from the Federal Government.

According to him, out of the sum, which was part-payment of the refund to the state, the then state government got about N4.37 billion, representing 67.3 percent of the sum, while N2.1 billion, representing 32.7 percent, went to the local councils.

He said 50 percent of the fund was used to pay salaries of workers with the rest expended on running the state.

The former commissioner said the second inflow, which formed 50 per cent of the refund, was made to the state but the money was in the state government’s account as of the time of handing over to the new administration in the state.

Akinmade said the money could not be accessed due to the disappearance of the state’s Accountant-General a few days to end of the Mimiko administration.

Going by the details released by the Federal Government, the state had received N14.01 billion.

 

Plateau State

The Plateau State government said it had not received any money from the Federal Ministry of Finance as part of the Paris Club loan refunds.

It said it could only make a statement when the N11.28 billion contained in the details of payments by the Federal Government is received.

The Special Adviser on Media to the Governor, Mr Daniel Danmjang, who made the disclosure, said the state government was aware of the conflicts in the figures but it could only say something when the money is actually received.

A source close to the office of the Commissioner of Finance said the state had been notified of the amount but it was awaiting the release which, according to him, was scheduled for this week.

The source added the state government would crosscheck the figures with the appropriate authorities.

According to him, if it cut across all the states, complaints would be channelled to the Nigeria Governors Forum but until the money is received, the government, especially the state Ministry of Finance, could not make a categorical statement.

He said further that the money might be less than what the Federal Ministry of Finance announced based on possible deductions from source due to one loan or another or contractual agreements entered into.

“We are waiting for the fund. It might be released before this week runs out. When we get to the bridge, we will know how to cross it,” he said.

 

Kogi State

The Kogi State government said it received N11.21 billion and not N11.05 billion as first tranche of the Paris Club refund.

The Commissioner for Finance, Idris Ashiru, said the present administration had been transparent in the handling of the state’s finances.

 

Osun State

The Osun State government said it expended the sum of N11,744,237,793.56 which it got from the Federal Government as first tranche of the Paris Club loan refund to pay workers’ salaries, pensions and leave bonuses for the last four months of 2016.

According to the state Accountant General, Mr Akintayo Kolawole, a total of N13,645,546,673.04 was used to clear the arrears of salaries, pensions and leave bonuses.

The state government promised to keep the public informed once it receives the payment of the second tranche of the refund.

The Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy to the Governor, Mr Semiu Okanlawon, said the government was waiting for the next round of payments and as soon as the government gets hold of the fund due to the state, it would make the details known to the public.

 

Ogun State

There was no official statement from the Ogun State government on the exact amount of money received from the Federal Government as regards the Paris Club refund.

As of Friday evening, a text message sent to the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Wale Oshinowo, was not replied.