The Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, has denied any involvement in the N570 billion hardship grant that the Federal Government allegedly provided to state governments.
In a nationwide address on August 8, President Bola Tinubu announced during the #EndBadGovernance protests that the Federal Government had allocated N570 billion to the 36 states. He also mentioned that Nigeria spends N2 trillion monthly on importing Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) and Automotive Gas Oil (diesel).
Additionally, he highlighted that the Federal Government’s total fiscal revenue for the first half of 2024 had reached N9.1 trillion, a significant increase compared to the previous administration.
The President further stated: “Also, 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. An additional 400,000 more nan0-businesses are expected to benefit.”
However, in a newsletter (No. 95 | August 2024) personally signed and shared on his X handle, Governor Makinde clarified that Oyo State was not aware of such a grant.
Addressing a concerned citizen’s query about the purported N570 billion Hardship Fund, Makinde stated: “Let me clarify that this is a misrepresentation of facts. The funds in question are part of the World Bank-assisted NG-CARES project—a Programme for Results intervention aimed at COVID-19 recovery.”
He explained that the NG-CARES initiative (COVID-19 Action Recovery Economic Stimulus) required states to initially fund the program. Once the World Bank verified the expenditures, it reimbursed the states through a 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 concluded.
