FG Never Provided N570 Billion to 36 States – Seyi Makinde Opposes President Tinubu

The governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, has refuted President Tinubu’s assertions that the federal government gave N570 billion to the 36 states that make up the federation, saying that the information is not entirely true.

Makinde said the money disbursed was not a direct grant from the federal government in a newsletter he signed and posted on the state website on Thursday.

The governor said that the federal government was just serving as a middleman between the international creditor and the 36 states; the money that the states had received was World Bank COVID-19 funding. 

He went on to say that the funding was dependent on how much the states had already paid for COVID-19 programs, so in essence, the World Bank was just paying back the money that the states had already used to combat the pandemic.

Seyi Makinde’s Remarks

The statement reads: “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 explained.  

Loan from the World Bank, not Grant

Makinde asserts that the money provided to the state by the World Bank was a debt that each state is required to repay, not a grant.

He said that because the facilities were received in separate batches, the so-called NG-Cares loan predated Tinubu’s presidency.

He claims that Oyo State was reimbursed for N5.98 billion in the first occurrence and N822 million in the second instance, which was a portion of the State government’s program investment.  

“It is important to note that the World Bank fund is a loan to States, not a grant. So, States will need to repay this loan. Note also that NG-CARES, which we christened Oyo-CARES in our State, predates the present federal administration.” 

“So, in direct response to the message, the Federal Government did not give Oyo State any money. We have reimbursed funds (N5.98 billion in the first instance and N822 million in the second instance) we invested in the three result areas of NG-CARES, which includes inputs distribution to smallholder farmers within our State.”  

“In fact, when the World Bank saw our model for the distribution of inputs preceded by biometric capturing of beneficiary farmers, they adopted it as the NG-CARES model,” Makinde went on to add.

What to note

As previously reported by The News Chronicles, President Bola Tinubu declared that the 36 States will get a total of N570 billion from his government as a temporary solution to improve the financial situation of the populace.

During his speech to the nation on Sunday, Tinubu urged the protestors to end their picketing and get back to the negotiating table.

The president claimed that the State was given this enormous amount as a grant by the federal government.

He explained, “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.”

The governor of Oyo, however, refuted this, stating that the funds obtained by the States came from a loan from the World Bank rather than a federal grant.