Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has clarified that the ₦570 billion reportedly given to states by the federal government was actually a loan from the World Bank, not a grant.
Makinde refuted the statement made by the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, labeling it as a misrepresentation of facts.
In a newsletter from the Governor’s office, Makinde explained that the funds were part of the World Bank-assisted NG-CARES project (COVID-19 Action Recovery Economic Stimulus), designed to help states recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19.
States had to use their own funds upfront to implement the program, and the World Bank later reimbursed them through a federal platform.
The federal government did not provide the funds directly but served as a conduit for the reimbursement.
Makinde emphasized that the World Bank funds are loans that the states will need to repay, not grants.
He further disclosed that Oyo State received ₦5.98 billion in the first tranche and ₦822 million in the second tranche, which were used in areas like inputs distribution to smallholder farmers.
The World Bank even adopted Oyo State’s model for input distribution as the standard for the NG-CARES program.