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From Joe Effiong, Uyo
The Akwa Ibom State government has reacted to the allegation that it has received and hidden hundreds of billions of naira being the 13% derivation arrears paid by the federal government to all bearing states.
The state has declared only N186,000 billion as the amount so far received as the derivation arrears between 2021 and the 3rd quarter of 2022.
The state Commissioner for Finance, Dr Linus Nkan, who debunked the allegation in a press conference, in a text titled, ‘13% Derivation Arrears: The facts and figures’, said it had become pertinent to respond to issues relating the derivation arrears, which agitation for refund was undertaken by the affected Governors, directly and through their officers at the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).
Dr Nkan said even though FAAC agreed with the very detailed submission and calculated the sums accruing to the states, it was agreed that the payments be made in tranches quarterly, over a period of five years, due to the large amount involved and the inability of the federal government to pay all at once.
He said; “In 2021, the sum of 160,000,000,000 was remitted to the state account. In 2022, the projected income from this source was 41,434,000,000, but as of Q3, the sum of 26,000,000,000 has been received.
” In line with proper financial records keeping and public finance transparency, the refund was reflected in the 2021 budget as “Other Exceptional income: 13% derivation revenue arrears, which was revised to the tune of 193,000,000,000; in 2022 the revised provision was 41,434,000,000; in the 2023 budget, the estimate for this line item is 100,000,000,000.
“A simple calculation of these figures will reveal the sustainability thinking disposition that guides the governance of our state. The report of the judicious application of this income and other incomes to the state are captured in the statutory Accountant General’s audited report for 2021 and the same will be reflected this year.
“There is, therefore, no reasonable cause for the activation of alarmist tendencies on the state of finances of the state, because the Governor is conscious of the judgement of history and posterity and is doing everything to earn a copious mention on its golden pages.
“We, therefore, urge the entire public to ignore the various figures bandied around on various media platforms, as those are nothing more than fiction. With the implementation of the International Public Sector Accounting System (IPSAS), it is impossible for any unaccounted expenditure to occur. It is also worthy to point out that the state’s budgets and annual reports must first be reviewed by the World Bank and it is practically impossible that financial infractions can skip their attention.”
According to him, this is the reason why knowledgeable stakeholders in the national public finance space have greatly commended the Udom Emmanuel government of Akwa Ibom State for deepening financial transparency in the financial administration of the state, with the latest such commendation coming recently from the Consul General of the United States, who not only commended the government but committed to increased partnership with the state in this respect.
“It is the avowed commitment of this administration, under the capable leadership of Governor Udom Emmanuel, to ensure judicious and justifiable application of scarce resources to provide for the innumerable needs of the great people of our state,” the commissioner said.
Daily Sun however observed that the frenzy about the 13% arrears refund may be more political than economic. Only last week, the former special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari, Senator Ita Enang, had while inaugurating the parliamentary directorate of the APC presidential campaign council reeled out figures purportedly received or to be received by oil-producing states with Akwa Ibom potentially netting the highest with N423.1 billion.
Concluding his address, Senator Enang, who is still a gubernatorial aspirant of APC in the state, said: “We leave this as one of your campaign tools to use in the campaigns as you mobilise voters to vote for our residential and other candidates”.
