The Nigerian government has cleared the air over an allegation raised by the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, who alleged that the government printed 60 Billion naira in March.
Reacting to the allegation, the Minister of finance, budget, and national planning, Zainab Ahmed, described the issue raised by Governor Obaseki as unfortunate and not factual.
The Minister denied the allegation that the Nigerian government printed money to distribute at FAAC.
While answering state house correspondents’ questions, the Minister explained that the money distributed at Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC, is generated.
She added that the Ministry published revenue generated by Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, the customs and the Nigerian National Petroleum Commission, NNPC, and we distribute at FAAC.
Earlier, Governor Obaseki had raised the alarm over the continued shrinking oil revenue and Nigeria’s financial trouble. He alleged that the federal government printed about N60 billion to augment allocation shared to states in March 2021.
According to him, Nigeria’s total borrowing would be over 15 to 16 trillion by December 2021, adding that there would be no crude oil revenue accruing to the national treasury for spending because of the dwindling oil fortunes.
Obaseki stated that the Nigerian economy could no longer rely on oil revenue as major oil producers like Shell and Chevron are no longer investing as usual.