Oyo State Governor Disputes President Tinubu's Claim on Federal Funding

Seyi Makinde, the Governor of Oyo State, has refuted President Bola Tinubu's claim that the 36 states of the Federation received N570 billion from the federal government.

In a newsletter posted on the official Oyo State website on Thursday, Makinde clarified that the funds distributed were not a direct grant from the federal government. Instead, he explained that the money was World Bank COVID-19 funding, with the federal government acting merely as an intermediary between the states and international creditors.

Makinde emphasized that the financing was contingent on the states having already paid for COVID-19 initiatives. The World Bank funds were essentially a reimbursement for expenses already incurred by the states in combating the pandemic.

He stated: “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.”

The World Bank's CARES program stands for COVID-19 Action Recovery Economic Stimulus, designed to assist states in Nigeria with COVID-19 recovery efforts.

President Tinubu had previously stated during a broadcast speech to Nigerians about the #EndBadGovernance protests that his administration had provided N570 billion to the 36 states, benefiting 600,000 nanobusinesses, with an expectation of 400,000 more nanobusinesses receiving support.