Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose had earlier accused the ministry of withholding the funds and causing his people to suffer.
The Ministry of Finance has denied claims by Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, that it is refusing to release the statutory allocation due to the state.
Fayose had earlier accused the ministry of withholding the funds and causing his people to suffer.
According to the ministry however, the governor failed to comply with requirements which would have qualified his state to receive the payments.
“This is not the first time of non-compliance by the Ekiti State Government,” a statement released by ministry spokesman, Salisu Dambatta read.
“His (Fayose’s) administration defaulted in meeting the conditions specified and agreed upon by the 35 State Governments that are participating in the programme, as contained in the Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP).
“The Ekiti State government was warned formally of its failure to comply with the full requirements via a letter on August 5, 2016, with reference number HMF/FMF/ASG/1/2016.
“The failure of Ekiti State Government to comply with the requirements and conditions for the Budget Support Facility (BSF) resulted in a letter sent to the Chief of Staff, to notify him of the suspension of BSF for Ekiti State and it was conveyed to Mr President before payment to the Ekiti State government was reinstated.
“The Ekiti State government and all the other participating states are aware of the consequence of failure to comply with the full conditions and it is not the first time that a state would be stopped from accessing the facility due to non-compliance.
“In the course of its normal duties, the Ministry of Finance has the right to query, suspend or withhold funds as part of the conditions of the Budget Support Facility.
“The process is for the Commissioner of Finance of any state or the governor having issues to contact the Federal Ministry of Finance and resolve the issues without resorting to the media, because such issues are of a financial nature and therefore, confidential; they are routinely resolved amicably by the parties involved,” it added.
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Fayose had also insinuated that the funds were being withheld because of his frequent verbal attacks on the government.
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