The thirty-six states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory have an outstanding liability of N1.72tn to the Federal Government in budget support facilities.
This was disclosed in a statement by the state house in the aftermath of the National Economic Council held Thursday.
A budget support facility typically refers to a financial arrangement where a government provides funds or financial assistance to another entity, such as a state or region, to support its budgetary needs.
The breakdown of the outstanding liabilities is as follows: FCT owes N49,105,873,326.75, and each of the 36 states carries the same debt burden, totalling N1,718,705,566,436.25.
The report emphasised that the Federal government ceased providing budget support loans in July 2023, partly attributing this decision to the increase in the federation’s revenues.
In a related development, the National Economic Council addressed a memo presented by Governor Yahaya Bello on a roadmap for Flood Mitigation, Adaptation, Preparedness, and Response in Nigeria. The council resolved to declare a state of emergency during category 4 floods, allocating ecological funds for states and local governments.
However, the council expressed disagreement with the recommendation to establish an office for flood management, asserting that the President’s appointment of a special adviser on climate change would adequately address this concern.