Oyo Governor reacts to FG's N570 billion fund released to 36 states, reveals truth

• Governor Seyi Makinde has addressed the confusion over the N570 Billion the federal government released to the 36 states of the federation
• The Oyo state governor insisted that the funds/loan were World Bank COVID-19 funds, not direct FG grants to cushion the effect of hardship or meant for palliative
• Makinde's response to concerns from citizens came barely a day after Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa state clarified the World Bank loan sent to states in a viral interview

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state has reacted to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s claim that the federal government granted N570 billion to the 36 states.

In a newsletter signed by the governor and published on the state’s official website on X, on Thursday, August 8, Makinde said the funds disbursed were not a direct allocation from the federal government.

He further explained that the funding was contingent on what the states had already spent on COVID-19 programs, meaning the World Bank was simply reimbursing what the states had used to address the pandemic crisis, Nairametrics reported.

Recall that President Tinubu while addressing the nation on Sunday, August 4, announced that his administration gave N570 billion to the 36 states as a palliative measure.

Tinubu appealed to those protesting to halt their demonstration for dialogue.

The president said:

“Also, more than N570 billion has been released to the 36 states to expand livelihood support to their citizens, while 600,000 nano-businesses have benefitted from our nano-grants. An additional 400,000 more nano-businesses are expected to benefit.”

Makinde: World Bank Loan, not Grant

According to Makinde, the funding by World Bank that was given to the state was not a grant, but a loan that is expected to be paid back by each state.

He said the NG-Cares loan, as it is dubbed, predates Tinubu’s administration as the facilities were received in different batches.

According to him, Oyo State received N5.98 billion in the first instance and N822 million in the second instance as reimbursement which was part of the investment of the State government under the programme.

Makinde tweeted:

"In my newsletter tonight, I responded to a question from a concerned citizen of Oyo State regarding the claim that the Federal Government ‘gave’ States over N570 billion as some kind of ‘hardship fund’ for citizens.""Let me state categorically that this is yet another case of misrepresentation of facts. The said funds were part of the World Bank-assisted NG-CARES project—a Programme for Results intervention."

Read Makinde's full statement here:

Gov Sule: “N573 billion fund/World Bank loan not for palliative”

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported earlier that Governor Abdullahi Sule has noted that the World Bank loan disbursed to Nasarawa State and others is intended solely for infrastructural projects and is not meant for direct financial aid.

In a viral interview, the governor disclosed that the federal government allocated N573 billion to state governors in recent months and Nasarawa State received N13.6 billion.

His clarification came on the heels of the ongoing nationwide protests declared by some groups in Nigeria in response to economic hardship occasioned by Bola Tinubu's reform policies.

Source: Legit.ng