Kwara State Govt is wondering why it hasn't received its share of Paris Club refund

The Kwara State Government is wondering why it has not received its share of the final tranche of

Commissioner for Finance in Kwara, Alhaji Demola Banu told The Herald this week that the government has done all the necessary reconciliations that are required for the refund to be made.

Banu also disclosed that while the state government has already made a fresh presentation on the refunds to the new Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, it is yet to receive the expected funds from Abuja, the nation's seat of power.

According to the Commissioner, since States like Osun, Benue, Oyo, and Delta have received their final tranches of the refunds, Kwara should also be getting hers.

What Paris Club refund will mean for Kwara

The Kwara state government had promised that when received, the bulk of the funds will be deployed towards assisting local councils in the payment of salary and pension arrears, as well as SUBEB and other liabilities at the state level.

The Paris Club refunds are simply monies accrued from over-deductions from each state by the federal government before Nigeria’s exit from the London/Paris Club of creditors.

The funds became available when Nigeria reached a final agreement for debt relief with the Paris Club in 2005.

Nigeria runs a pseudo federalism where monies generated from taxes and crude oil sale is shared among the three tiers of government based on a pre-agreed percentage.