Bayelsa, Imo, Rivers and Zamfara get zero allocation
The Federal Government has disbursed ?123.348billion (USD324.6million) to states under its States Fiscal Transparency Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme for Results.
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed disclosed this in a statement issued by the Ministrys Director of Press and Public Relations,Hassan Dodo, yesterday, in Abuja.
The minister explained that the disbursement followed the achievement of results by the States in the just-concluded 2019 Annual Performance Assessment (APA).
Mrs. Ahmed said the disbursement included N91.048 billion (USD239.6 million) of performance-based grants for the 2019 APA results achieved by 32 eligible states across various Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) covering fiscal transparency, accountability, expenditure efficiency, revenue mobilisation and debt sustainability.
The States received the grants in line with the number of results achieved, with Sokoto State receiving the highest amount of N6.612billion, while Kano State got the lowest amount of N1.710billion.
Bayelsa, Imo, Rivers and Zamfara States got zero allocation due to their inability to meet the 2019 eligibility criteria, which required States to publish on-line approved annual budgets and audited financial statements within a specific time frame, she said.
She further noted that the 2019 APA results were a significant improvement on the 2018 APA results where the total performance-based grants of N43.416 billion ($120.6 million) were received by 24 eligible States, demonstrating the substantive progress States have made on fiscal reforms.
This round of disbursement is coming after the recent one in November, 2020 by the Federal Government where the sum of N66.5billion ($175 million) was granted to 35 States which achieved results under another new COVID-19 response.
The minister observed that since the first disbursement in April 2020, the Federal Government has so far disbursed the total sum of N233 billion (USD620.6million) to the States under the US $750 million World Bank-Assisted States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) Programme-for-Results.
The increase in the number of benefitting States and results achieved is indicative of the wider acceptance of SFTAS ideals by all States of the Federation and this would herald a new era of transparency and accountability in fiscal governance at the sub-national level, she said.
