The Bayelsa State Government announced on Monday that it has received N10.8 billion from the N570 billion grant allocated by the Federal Government to states.
This announcement followed President Bola Tinubu’s broadcast addressing the recent hunger protests, where he mentioned that the federal government had disbursed N570 billion to the 36 states to enhance livelihood support for their citizens.
Mr. Timipre Seipolu, Technical Adviser to the Bayelsa Governor on Treasury, clarified that the state received N10.8 billion for May.
While providing a detailed breakdown of the state’s income and expenditures for May, June, and July, he explained that the N570 billion mentioned by President Tinubu was part of the NG-CARES funds for social interventions, in collaboration with the World Bank.
“The NG-CARES programme is jointly managed by the states, the Federal Government, and the World Bank,” Seipolu said. “The states are required to incur certain expenditures, including those in agriculture through FADAMA. These expenditures are refunded quarterly after independent verification of the projects. Support to SMEs and vulnerable individuals, such as the elderly, must adhere to World Bank guidelines, as non-compliance can cause delays in refunds.”
Seipolu emphasized that the N10.8 billion received by the state over two months ago was reimbursement for projects funded under the NG-CARES programme, disclosing that the state currently has N112.26 billion available, which has been earmarked for ongoing infrastructure projects.
Additionally, Mrs. Ebiuwou Koku-Obiyai, Commissioner for Information, Orientation, and Strategy, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to transparency laws that mandate the disclosure of the state’s income and expenditure profiles.
She also praised the media for their objective reporting on the state’s affairs.
Earlier this month, the Federal Government claimed to have released N570 billion to the 36 states to support citizens’ livelihoods.
President Bola Tinubu made this announcement during a nationwide broadcast, revealing that the Federal Government had generated N9.1 trillion in fiscal revenue during the first half of 2024, a significant increase from the previous administration.
“Additionally, over N570 billion has been disbursed to the 36 states to support citizens’ livelihoods, with 600,000 nano-businesses benefiting from our nano-grants. We expect an additional 400,000 nano-businesses to benefit as well,” President Tinubu stated.
However, some state Governors have disputed this claim.
The Governors of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, and Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, denied receiving the N570 billion hardship grant that the Federal Government claimed to have provided to state governments.
The governments of Abia and Osun States also indicated that they had not yet received such funds, asserting that the World Bank intervention was a loan to states rather than a grant from the Nigerian government.
Other states contacted declined to comment, possibly to avoid conflict with the President.
