The Federal Ministry of Finance has released the N1.1 billion Budget Support Fund for Ekiti State that it seized about two weeks ago.
The State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, disclosed this at the weekend while commenting on some national issues.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, he quoted the governor as saying that the Federal Ministry of Finance had communicated state officials on the release of the money.
“I don’t want to join issues with anybody on the allocation, it is a statutory allocation for all the states, I can confirm to you here that by Tuesday next week, we will get the bank alert for the money, an official communication on the release was passed to me on Thursday,” the governor said.
Recall that the state government and officials of the Federal Ministry of Finance were at loggerheads over the non-release of the money.
The money was initially paid into the account of the state penultimate Thursday, but was withdrawn a day later for reasons not disclosed to Ekiti State Government officials.
The development compelled Governor Fayose to go to the headquarters of the ministry in Abuja last Wednesday to officially protest the action.
A statement by the ministry said the money was withheld because the state did not fulfill some obligations, a claim promptly denied by the state government.
In a swift reaction, Governor Fayose, who spoke through one of his aides, Mr Lere Olayinka, said the explanation was an afterthought meant to mislead the public.
“So when did they realise that Ekiti State did not meet the conditions?” Mr. Olayinka asked. “Or did they send the allocations in the last seven months in error?”
He spoke further: “If they sent any letter, maybe they sent it today, because the governor was there yesterday and before then no one knew the reasons why the funds were not released. “As I am talking to you, we have not received any letter from the ministry, if they sent any letter, maybe they sent it today. This explanation is an afterthought.”
The fund was set up by the Federal Government last year to help state governments have enough money to be able to pay workers’ salaries as a result of dwindling monthly statutory allocations.
Only Lagos State is not part of the deal, which will last for one year.