Seyi Makinde, the governor of Oyo State, has denied participating in the ₦570 billion hardship grant that the federal government is alleged to have paid to the state governments.
During the #EndBadGovernance countrywide rallies against hunger and hardship, President Bola Tinubu addressed the people of Nigeria via broadcast, stating that the 36 states had received ₦570 billion from the government.
Additionally, according to Tunubu, Nigeria imports ₦2 trillion worth of diesel and Premium Motor Spirit, generally known as gasoline, on a monthly basis.
He said that during the first half of 2024, the Federal Government’s coffers accumulated ₦9.1tn in total fiscal income, a notable rise over the earnings of the previous government.
“Also, more than ₦570bn 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,” the President stated.
But according to a newsletter No. 95 | August 2024 that the governor personally signed and posted on his X account on Thursday, the state was unaware of this award.
He said, “In my newsletter tonight, 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.
“So, in direct response to the message, the Federal Government did not give Oyo State any money. We were 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’s denial follows the national protests against hunger and suffering being met with controversy. While the protest was said to have been nonviolent in many places, it had descended into violence in a few northern states when thieves stole property and supplies owned by both the government and private citizens.
A few demonstrators in the north have also been observed waving the Russian flag, a move that has drawn strong criticism and been classified as treasonous. Since then, the Department of State Service (DSS) has declared that sponsors of the violent protests have been detained and that an inquiry has been launched, with seven Polish nationals among them.
Additionally, the Services promised to identify the funders of the violent protests.