The governing bodies of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory have an unsettled debt of N1.72 trillion to the federal government in the form of budget support funds.
During the 140th National Economic Council meeting chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja on Thursday, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation presented figures regarding the state budget support facility.
In 2021, the Muhammadu Buhari administration granted a new Bridge Financing Facility of N656 billion to all 36 states.
This was part of earlier interventions to “help state governments to meet their financial obligations,” then-Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed said.
The Federal Capital Territory has a debt of N49.11 billion, and each of the 36 states also shares this debt, amounting to N1.72 billion collectively.
During a prior NEC meeting in November 2023, the Federal Government reiterated that it had halted the provision of budget support loans as of July 2023, citing a rise in the federation’s revenues as one of the contributing factors.
