Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has denied allegations that the federal government provided N570 billion to the 36 states of the federation to support social and welfare programs.
In a recent nationwide broadcast, President Bola Tinubu mentioned that his administration had allocated more than N570 billion to states as part of efforts to enhance livelihood support. He claimed that this funding had benefited 600,000 nano-businesses, with an additional 400,000 businesses expected to benefit in the future.
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However, Governor Makinde clarified on Thursday that this sum was not a bailout or gratuitous handout from the federal government. Instead, it was part of the World Bank-assisted Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) project, a results-based intervention designed to assist states in recovering from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Makinde emphasized that the funds were facilitated by the World Bank and were intended to support states in their COVID-19 recovery efforts. The states initially funded the projects using their own resources and were later reimbursed by the World Bank after verification. The federal government merely served as an intermediary for these reimbursements, and did not provide the funds directly.
Makinde also pointed out that the World Bank’s funds were loans, not grants, and that each state is responsible for repaying the loan. He further explained that the NG-CARES program, known as Oyo-CARES in his state, predates the current federal administration.
In addressing the federal government’s claims, Makinde clarified that Oyo State was reimbursed for funds it had already spent on the NG-CARES program, specifically highlighting investments in areas such as input distribution to smallholder farmers. He also noted that Oyo State’s model for biometric capturing of beneficiary farmers was adopted by the World Bank as the standard for the NG-CARES initiative.
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