FG: No budget support facility deduction from states till April 2021

The Federal Government of Nigeria has reassured that the deduction of the Budget Support facility to States would remain suspended until April, 2021.

Recall that the federal government has been waiving the deductions since April this year as a supportive measure to help states finances stabilize.

Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, stated at the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of August 2019 the FG was making moves to recover the N614 billion given to 35 states as budget support facility.

Ahmed had announced that the council agreed to constitute a team that would help to finalise modalities to commence repayment of these facility to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

This, she stressed, “means an equivalent is N17.5bn per state. Council agreed to constitute a team of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to finalize modalities to commence repayment of this facility to the Central Bank.”

Also at Thursday’s virtual meeting of the council for the month of September, chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning reported that as at September 15, 2020, the Excess Crude Account (ECA) had a total balance of $72.409 million as against $72.408 million as of August 18, 2020.

He put outstanding balance in the Stabilisation Fund Account at N43.603 billion; while the balance in the Natural Resources Development Fund Account stood at N138.770 billion.