Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state has reacted to President Bola Ahmed Tinubuâs claim that the federal government granted N570 billion to the 36 states.
In a newsletter signed by the governor and published on the stateâs 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:
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 Tinubuâs 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:
Read Makinde’s full statement here:
Meanwhile, TimesNow.com.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: TimesNow.com.ng
