AGS NEWS – During the 140th meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) held at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation revealed that Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory collectively owe the federal government N1.72 trillion in outstanding budget support facilities.

This information was disclosed in a presentation on state budget support facilities at the NEC meeting presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima.

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Stanley Nkwocha, the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communications, conveyed this in a statement titled ‘NEC endorses take-off of $617M i-DICE programme across states.’

In 2021, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari approved a fresh N656 billion Bridge Financing Facility for the 36 states, part of earlier interventions aimed at assisting state governments to meet their financial obligations, as stated by then-Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed.

Each of the 36 states and the FCT carries a debt burden of N49.11 billion.

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However, during a previous NEC meeting in November 2023, it was emphasized that the federal government ceased providing budget support loans in July 2023, partly due to an increase in the federation’s revenues.