The attention of the Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organization (MDPCO) has been drawn to the lame attempt by the Tinubu Presidency to evade the core issues raised by the Presidential Candidate of the Allied People’s Movement (APM) and Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde that the Nigeria Liquefied xexn42Natural Gas Dividend accruable to states is being withheld by the Tinubu-led Federal Government.
Instead of coming clean on why the fund is withheld, the Tinubu Presidency in its characteristic resort to lies, falsehood, distortions and propaganda left the issue to play around with unsupported figures in the bid to hoodwink Nigerians and divert public attention from this constitutional violation and assault on the states
A statement issued on sunday by the Director of Strategic Communications MDPCO, Richard Nnana Ihediwa said the Tinubu Presidency claims that Engr Makinde is wrong in his assertion that N250 billion NLNG dividend meant for states is being withheld, we challenge President Tinubu to directly tell Nigerians if the said dividends have been paid to the states rather than resorting to personal attacks on the APM Presidential candidate.
The Presidency appears carried away by its own display of imperial grandeur, forgetting that Nigeria remains a democracy in which demanding accountability for public funds is a civic right, not an offence. Governor Makinde’s presidential ambition does not in any way deny him that right, nor does it exempt the Federal Government from legitimate scrutiny.
Moreover, and importantly so, does the Presidency has any constitutional powers to withhold any funds accruing to the states in a Federation?
We therefore challenge the Presidency to publish the relevant NLNG dividend receipts, Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) decisions and official communications establishing the amounts received, the sums approved for distribution and the timing of the proposed payments to states.
Nigerians deserve clear answers to three fundamental questions of how much the NLNG pay in dividends during the period under discussion and the amount credited to the Federation Account. They need to know how much was approved for distribution to the states.
Invoking NLNG’s cumulative dividend payments in the last 25 years does not answer these questions. Historical totals cannot, by themselves, establish the amount received during a specific period and the sum available for distribution. It does not answer whether a particular payment was proposed, approved, received, delayed or withheld. Those questions can only be settled by the relevant financial records.
If the Presidency’s argument is that allocating ₦250 billion to each of the 36 states would amount to ₦9 trillion, a sum NLNG has never paid as a single dividend as it alleged, that calculation does not resolve the matter. The question is not whether ₦9 trillion was ever paid in a single transaction, but the amount that is actually under discussion as can be established by the official records.
Engr. Makinde, the Governor of Oyo State and Presidential candidate of the APM is known for his integrity. He is not given to propaganda and disinformation which are the known stock-in-trade and policy direction of the Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration. He has maintained a clean, issue-based campaign devoid of mudslinging, misinformation, disinformation and propaganda for which the APC is known.
The MDPCO stands by Engr. Makinde in his assertion that President Tinubu is running a voodoo economy where government thrive on lies, where the national fortunes only improve on papers with no corresponding improvement in the harsh everyday life of citizens under his administration.
In any event, our campaign is aware that President Tinubu and his APC have been jittery and restless over Engr. Makinde’s soaring popularity and the widespread acceptance of his RESET NIGERIA Agenda message across the nation since the commencement of the campaign.
The Tinubu Presidency is disturbed because Nigerians have identified Engr. Makinde as a credible alternative to President Tinubu, leading to the massive surge to his campaign and the APM. It should therefore come to terms with the fact that no amount of propaganda and lies against Engr. Makinde will help President Tinubu at this time.
