Senate President Godswill Akpabio has issued an apology to state governors following his remarks regarding the alleged disbursement of N30 billion in hardship allowances to them. During a recent plenary session addressing the Ways and Means collected from the Central Bank of Nigeria by the previous administration, Akpabio referenced an “unverified report” suggesting that state governors had each received N30 billion from the Federation Account to mitigate the impact of inflation and soaring food prices.
However, Akpabio’s statement drew swift reactions from several governors, including Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, who refuted the claim. Notably, the Federal Government had previously announced the disbursement of N2 billion to governors as part of a N5 billion loan package offered to each state to alleviate the effects of fuel subsidy removal.
Apologising to the governor on Monday evening, Akpabio in a statement by his media adviser, Eseme Eyiboh, said he held the governors in high esteem.
He said, “The Office of the President of the Senate has been drawn to various misconceptions in the public domain on the statement credited to the President of the Senate in the plenary of Wednesday, February 21, 2024, during the presentation of a report of the joint Committees on Finance, Agriculture/Food Sufficiency, Banking and Insurance.
“During the session, the President of the Senate commented on the payment of an unverified cumulative sum of about N30bn to the sub-national governments by the Federal Government for various interventions to ameliorate the food situation of our citizens at the sub-national governments.
“The unfortunate conjectures to take away the kernel in the material facts of FAAC payment are rather regretted. In considering the well-intended motive of urging state governments to collaborate with the Federal government of President Bola Tinubu to facilitate strategic interventions to mitigate the prevailing economic situation in the country remains the underpinning motivation in the comment.
“The President of the Senate is not oblivious to the fact that state governments are functional partners in all the efforts of the current administration of President Bola Tinubu and are also valuable stakeholders’ in the various legislative engagements of the legislature in creating the nexus between the legislature and the people.”
