FG tackles Obaseki, denies printing N60bn to support March allocation

The Federal Government has denied printing N60bn to augment March allocation to states as claimed by the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki.

It described the claim by Obaseki as untrue and sad.

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, stated this on Wednesday when he spoke to State House correspondents in Abuja.

She said, “The issue that was raised by the Edo State governor for me is very, very sad; because it is not a fact.

“What we distribute at FAAC is revenue that is generated; and in fact, distribution of revenue is public information. We publish revenue generated by the FIRS, the Customs and the NNPC and we distribute at FAAC.

“So, it is not true to say we printed money to distribute at FAAC; it is not true,” she said.

The minister also described the governor’s alarm over the nation’s borrowing as needless, saying Nigeria’s debt profile was still within sustainable limits.

The Edo State governor had while speaking at the Edo Transition Committee Stakeholders’ Engagement claimed the Federation Account Allocation Committee, to be able to meet the revenue sharing to states for the month of March, had to print about N60 billion more cash.

He had, during the same event, alleged that the Federal Government had been borrowing without a sustainable plan to sort out the nation’s debt load.