FG Grants ₦570 Billion to States to Alleviate Hardship

The Federal Government has granted ₦570 billion to 36 states to support livelihoods in response to widespread hunger and misery.

President Bola Tinubu announced on Sunday that the Federal Government received ₦9.1 trillion in fiscal income in the first half of 2024, a major increase over the previous administration’s earnings.

“In addition, more than N570 billion has been provided to the 36 states to boost livelihood support for their inhabitants, and 600,000 nano-businesses have benefited from our nano-grants. “An additional 400,000 nanobusinesses are expected to benefit,” the President said.

The President highlighted that Nigeria’s debt burden had decreased, with revenue from debt service falling from 97% in 2023 to 68% in 2024.

He stated that the country has cleared lawful outstanding foreign exchange liabilities of $5 billion “without any adverse impact on our programmes.”
According to the President, debt reduction has given the government more financial independence, allowing for increased investment on critical social services like education and healthcare.

Despite Nigeria’s rich oil and gas resources, he stated that his administration encountered a country that was not only reliant on oil, but also disregarded its gas resources while subsidizing fuel prices.

This, he added, informed his administration’s decision to invest in compressed natural gas.

“Fellow Nigerians, we are a country endowed with both oil and gas resources, yet we encountered a country that had relied entirely on oil-based gasoline, ignoring its gas resources to fuel the economy. We also used our hard-earned foreign currency to pay for and subsidise its use.
To solve this, we quickly started our Compressed Natural Gas Initiative to power our transportation economy while lowering prices. This will save over N2 trillion every month, which will be used to import PMS and AGO, freeing up resources for further investment in healthcare and education,” Tinubu remarked.

During the Sunday program, Tinubu also stated that his administration was prepared to listen to and address the concerns of demonstrators participating in the statewide protest that began on August 1, 2024.

The President attributed the revenue growth in the first half of the year to measures to plug leakages, implement automation, and creatively mobilise financing, all without adding to the people’s burden.

He stated that productivity in the non-oil sector is gradually improving, reaching new heights and capitalizing on the potential provided by the current economic situation.

He said, “In the past 14 months, our government has made significant strides in rebuilding the foundation of our economy to carry us into a future of plenty and abundance.

“On the fiscal side, aggregate government revenues have more than doubled, hitting over N9.1tn in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023 due to our efforts at blocking leakages, introducing automation and mobilising funding creatively without additional burden on the people.

“Productivity is gradually increasing in the non-oil sector, reaching new levels and taking advantage of the opportunities in the current economic ambience,” Tinubu said.

He said his administration would distribute one million kits of extremely low or no cost to commercial vehicles that transport people and goods, and who currently consume 80 per cent of the imported petrol and diesel.

“We have begun the distribution of conversion kits and the establishment of conversion centers throughout the country in collaboration with the private sector.” We expect that this CNG program will lower transportation costs by about 60% and assist to control inflation,” Tinubu stated.

While approved individuals have imported diesel into Nigeria, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited is the country’s sole petrol importer.

Despite having Africa’s greatest oil output, Nigeria relies on imported petroleum products due to limited refining capability.