Government Pays Out $5.4bn Paris Club Refund To States

The Federal Government has announced that it has just paid out to states payment for the Paris Club Refund.

A total amount of $5.4bn has so far been paid to states by the Federal Government for settlement of the Paris Club Refund.

The $5.4bn when converted based on the N305 per dollar official exchange rate of the Central Bank of Nigeria is about N1.65trn.

The Paris Club Refund was released to states in phases based on some conditions.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, confirmed the release on Monday in Abuja.

Some of the conditions are that salaries must be paid, states must be committed to the repayment of Budget Support Loans granted in 2016 and clearing of amounts due to the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative.

Other conditions are a commitment to clearing matching grants from the Universal Basic Education Commission where some States have available funds which could be used to improve primary education.2P