You have increased our allocations truly, but value of Naira too has reduced — Gov replies to Tinubu’s speech
Plateau State Governor, Caleb Muftwang, noted yesterday that despite an increase in the monthly federal allocation disbursed to state governments, the purchasing power and real value of the money allocated have “decreased significantly” due to inflation and the weakening naira.
The governor’s comments came in response to President Bola Tinubu’s claims in his nationwide broadcast on Sunday, amid ongoing protests against hunger, that money saved from the removal of the fuel subsidy was used to increase the monthly allocations to states to help address the hardship Nigerians are currently facing.
In an interview on Channels Television’s breakfast program, Sunrise Daily, Muftwang said: “It is true that in terms of amount, it has actually increased but in terms of purchasing power, in terms of real value, it has decreased very significantly.”
When asked about the exact monthly allocation to his state, the governor mentioned he “can’t give an exact figure” because the amount has fluctuated monthly.
Highlighting the increase in prices for diesel, cement, iron rods, and other materials used for critical infrastructure construction, Governor Muftwang said: “So, we shouldn’t just look at the amount, let’s look at the purchasing power of the amount that the state has so far received from the federation account.”
He added, “It doesn’t need any rocket science. When the last administration came in 2015, the dollar exchanged to about N180 to the naira. Today, you are telling me that money has increased but all of us know the value of the naira to the dollar. We are still a consumer nation; many of the things we are using in governance are imported and so they are dollar-denominated.”
Currently, the federal government receives 52.68% of the country’s monthly revenue, states receive 26.72%, and local governments receive 20.60%, allocated by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), which operates under the Presidency and is disbursed by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
Protesters in the nationwide protests have persistently urged the President to reverse the removal of the fuel subsidy, attributing the country’s hardship to it due to the resulting spike in inflation, which now stands at over 34 percent, with food inflation over 40 percent.
