Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has countered claims by President Tinubu that the federal government granted N570 billion to the 36 states of the federation, stating that the information is not completely accurate.
In a newsletter signed by the governor and published on the state’s official website on Thursday, Makinde said the funds disbursed was not a direct allocation from the federal government.
The governor clarified that the money received by the states were actually World Bank COVID-19 funds, with the federal government acting only as an intermediary between the international creditor and the 36 states.
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.
The Statement read as follows:
“Before I speak more on further actions we have taken to show our commitment to productivity and sustainability, let me respond to a long message I received earlier in the week from a concerned citizen.
“The message was about a purported N570 billion Hardship Fund “given” to the 36 States by the Federal Government. I was queried about what I used the money for.
“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.
“The World Bank facilitated an intervention to help States in Nigeria with COVID-19 Recovery. CARES means COVID-19 Action Recovery Economic Stimulus.
“It was called Programme for Results because States had to use their money in advance to implement the programme. After the World Bank verified the amount spent by the State, it reimbursed the States through the platform provided at the Federal level.
“The Federal Government did not give any State money; they were simply the conduit through which the reimbursements were made to States for money already spent,” Makinde said.
