During the 140th meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) held at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on Thursday, it was revealed that the governments of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) collectively owe the federal government an outstanding liability of N1.72 trillion in budget support facilities. The figures were disclosed in a presentation on state budget support facilities by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communications, made this revelation in a statement titled ‘NEC endorses take-off of $617M i-DICE programme across states.’
The outstanding liability stems from previous interventions by the federal government to assist state governments in meeting their financial obligations. In 2021, the Muhammadu Buhari administration approved a fresh N656 billion Bridge Financing Facility for the 36 states, as part of efforts to alleviate financial constraints faced by state governments.
Each of the 36 states carries the same debt burden, totaling N1.72 trillion, with the FCT accounting for N49.11 billion of the total amount owed.
It was also noted that at a previous NEC meeting held in November 2023, the federal government emphasized its decision to cease providing budget support loans to states as of July 2023, partly due to an increase in the federation’s revenues.
Meanwhile, the financial status of various government accounts was also disclosed during the meeting. The Excess Crude Account was reported to have a balance of $473,754.57, the Stabilization Account stood at N33,808,342,662.88, and the Current Balance of Natural Resources amounted to N113,925,600,918.68.
The revelation of the substantial debt owed by state governments underscores the ongoing challenges in fiscal management and highlights the need for concerted efforts to address financial sustainability issues at the sub-national level.
