FG releases details of Paris Club refunds to states

• N516bn released to states and FTC
The Federal Government has released a breakdown of the first tranche of Paris Club refunds paid to states to date.
According to a press statement by the Director of Information in the Ministry of Finance, Salisu Danbatta, a total of N516.38 billion were made to the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory upon the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari on November 21 2016,
The payments were in partial settlement of longstanding 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 debt service deductions were in respect of the Paris Club, London Club and Multilateral debts of the FG and States. While Nigeria reached a final agreement for debt relief with the Paris Club in October 2005, some States had already been overcharged.
The government had initially turned down repeated requests to release the payment details.
“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,” the statement said.
The releases were conditional upon a minimum of 50 per cent being applied to the payment of workers’ salaries and pensions.
The Federal Ministry of Finance said it was reviewing the impact of these releases on the level of arrears owed by State Governments.
Danbatta said a detailed report is being compiled for presentation to the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, as part of the process for approval for the release of any subsequent tranches.
The payment details:
REFUND OF OVERDEDUCTIONS ON PARIS CLUB LOANS ON THE ACCOUNTS OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS (1995-2002)

S/N STATE TOTAL AMOUNT PAID IN NGN
1 ABIA 11,431,531,742.97
2 ADAMAWA 10,257,434,321.63
3 AKWA IBOM 25,981,255,165.12
4 ANAMBRA 12,243,313,404.68
5 BAUCHI 13,755,553,122.51
6 BAYELSA 24,895,696,347.55
7 BENUE 13,709,343,498.51
8 BORNO 14,681,869,730.63
9 CROSS RIVER 12,150,687,893.85
10 DELTA 27,606,963,362.46
11 EBONY I9,016,166,759.96
12 EDO 12,182,253,184.99
13 EKITI 9,545,673,294.17
14 ENUGU 10,723,578,819.32
15 GOMBE 8,945,755,396.38
16 IMO 14,001,610,365.94
17 JIGAWA 14,215,333,413.52
18 KADUNA 15,443,458,455.1
19 KANO 21,740,390,362.48
20 KATSINA 16,404,261,819.71
21 KEBBI 11,954,998,982.9
22 KOGI 12,055,455,191.6
23 KWARA 10,241,288,653.14
24 LAGOS 16,743,876,266.21
25 NASARAWA 9,102,098,342.24
26 NIGER 14,421,586,309.89
27 OGUN 11478,749,388.92
28 ONDO 14,007,296,628.57
29 OSUN 12,628,212,681.25
30 OYO 13,315,423,054.25
31 PLATEAU 11,288,158,110.82
32 RIVERS 34,925,785,322.06
33 SOKOTO 12,882,257,093.52
34 TARABA 9,326,607,975
35 YOBE 10,826,206,233.18
36 ZAMFARA 10,884,771,188.99
37 FCT 1,369,735,000.09
TOTAL 516,384,636,883.81