Nigeria, Dec. 2 -- The Presidency has released details of oil derivation refunds made to Niger Delta states amidst a growing controversy that the funds had been misused by some governments in the region.

The federal government said in a statement Friday that the nine oil-producing states received a total of N625.43 billion 13 per cent oil derivation, subsidy and SURE-P refunds from the Federation Account between 2021 and 2022. The refunds date from 1999 to 2021.

It is the first public confirmation that huge amounts of money, separate from monthly federal allocations, had been paid to the states, amidst growing questions on how the state authorities used the funds.

Neither the federal nor the affected state governments disclosed the pay...