Makinde, Sule Counter Tinubu’s Claim Of Giving N570bn to States

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State have stated that President Bola Tinubu lied about giving N570 billion to be shared among 36 states and the federal capital territory.

Tinubu made the claim in a broadcast on Sunday where he reeled out his efforts to alleviate the economic hardship faced by Nigerians. “More than N570bn 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,” the President stated.

However, Governors Makinde and Sule said this is not true. They noted that the N570bn being referred to is a loan from the World Bank, and it precedes Tinubu’s administration. Makinde described the President’s claim as “another case of misrepresentation of facts.”

The governors explained that the fund was initiated in 2020, and states had been receiving it in batches, with the latest batch disbursed in June 2024. They said the fund, tagged ‘NG-CARES’, was for infrastructural development for economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic.

“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 wrote in a newsletter he published on Thursday.

He explained that Oyo State spent its share on an agricultural project initiated by his administration – “the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support (L-PRES) Project”. This project is “designed to create a resilient livestock landscape, leveraging our comparative advantage in dairy, goat and sheep farming, poultry, and piggery,” he explained.

Governor Sule, who disclosed that the World Bank gave the loan at no interest, stated that “Nasarawa received N13.6 billion, representing over 10 per cent of the amount.”

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Oluwatobi Odeyinka

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