Plateau State Governor, Caleb Muftwang, said yesterday that though the monthly federal allocation disbursed to state governments had risen, the purchasing power and the real value of the money allocated has “decreased significantly” due to the inflationary pressure on the economy and the wobbling naira.

The governor spoke against claims by President Bola Tinubu, in his nationwide broadcast on Sunday, amid ongoing protest against hunger in the country, that money saved from removal of fuel subsidy was used to mark up monthly from the federation account to states to enable them address the hardship Nigerians were currently facing.

But reacting to the President’s claim in an interview of Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, 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,”

Asked to mention the monthly allocation to his state, the governor said he “can’t give an exact figure” because what has come in so far monthly has fluctuated.

While noting that the prices of diesel, cement, iron rods and other materials used for the construction of critical infrastructure had increased, 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.

“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 gets a total of 52.68%, states get 26.72% while LGs get 20.60% of the country’s monthly revenue allocated by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, which operates under the Presidency, and disbursed by the Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC.

Recall that protesters in the nationwide protest have persistently asked the President to reverse the removal of fuel subsidy, blaming the hardship in the country on it because of the manner it shot up the rate of inflation which currently stands at over 34 per cent and food inflation at over 40 per cent.

sIfioksq:
Tinubu is working hard to ensure that resources are managed effectively. It's not easy, but with his leadership, we trust that better days are ahead for Nigeria. Let's keep supporting our President as he navigates these challenges.

“We are still a consumer nation; many of the things we are using in governance are imported and so they are dollar-denominated.”

HIGHESTPOPORI:
Very true

RenaissanceGuy:
The way the FG keeps on harping on increase in revenue generation and FARC sharing shows that they are economic illiterates. The increase is due to our poor exchange rate which also consequentially reduces the value. The value of ₦2bn of 1 years ago is now around ₦750m. Is this so hard to understand??

favor914:
Economic & social Illiterates please be silent, states that were collecting 2 billion Naira 2 years ago, are collecting 6 billion Naira today, yet this clowns say money no reach, and their confused damned citizens say na President fault.

How much money were you able to raise on your own?

favor914:
The reason why you Things are suffering in that Zoo is because of the massive high level of ignorance that prevails amongst you lot.

RenaissanceGuy:
The way the FG keeps on harping on increase in revenue generation and FARC sharing shows that they are economic illiterates. The increase is due to our poor exchange rate which also consequentially reduces the value. The value of ₦2bn of 1 years ago is now around ₦750m. Is this so hard to understand??

Philipponzaghi:
Tinubu is trying to stabilize the economy amidst these challenges. The reality is that the past administrations left us with a mess. Let's focus on solutions instead of just complaints. The future is bright if we all play our part!

CodeTemplar:
There was a significant increase before currency was finally floated. What did they achieve with the increase if not to take substantial chunk of the fund back to the forex to increase demand for it and worsen the situation?

RenaissanceGuy:
So, is that why Nigerians are currently protesting?? Are the protests against the governors?? Are the governors responsible for the removal of fuel subsidy??

RenaissanceGuy:
Can state governors initiate fuel subsidy?? Are people protesting against bad roads or schools or lack of payment of salaries by the state governments?? Was it not petrol subsidy removal that's the bane of the current hyperinflation that people are protesting about??

CodeTemplar:
The protwst has been hijacked to table unreasonable offers by politicl adversaries. Subsidy was removed majorly to keep allocations flowing so it is up to the gorvenors to reduce any hardship subsidy removal brings and not the FG.

favor914:
Economic & social Illiterates please be silent, states that were collecting 2 billion Naira 2 years ago, are collecting 6 billion Naira today, yet these incoherent clowns say money no reach, and their confused damned citizens say na President fault.

How much money were you & your state government able to raise on your own, to complement the free money from Abuja?