The Presidency has finally broken its silence on the controversy surrounding the N573 billion fund received by states, clarifying that the money is a World Bank loan guaranteed by the Federal Government, not a grant.

The clarification was made by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, on Sunday.

Ajayi explained that the focus should be on how the money can assist in the country’s development, rather than whether it is a loan or grant.

He said: “I think the issue is not whether it is a loan or grant.

“The point, as clearly stated in the President’s broadcast, is that the states got money.

“The amount, which is the second tranche under the COVID-19 livelihoods support scheme under the NG-CARES Programme funded by the World Bank, is N570 billion.

“The fact is states are getting needed support and funding to improve the lives of the people.

“The World Bank facility is guaranteed by the Federal Government because every multilateral loan must have a sovereign guarantee.

“This means the loan will be repaid by the Federal Government in case the sub-nationals are unable to.

“There should be no hue and cry by any governor really if the objective is to serve the people and make life better for the masses.

“The President is elected to make life better for citizens the same way the governors are elected to do the same in their respective states.

“President Tinubu will continue to work to expand the economy and enable shared prosperity for all Nigerians.

“He considers the governors as partners in progress and the job of nation-building.

“What can’t be denied is that the states have more resources to deliver better service to the people, especially in critical areas of education, healthcare, security and physical infrastructure like roads among others.”

He added, “I think the issue here is one or two governors trying to reduce the matter to semantics. It is much more than that.

“The fact remains that the Federal Government paid the states the money and the N573 billion is actually the second tranche.

“The first tranche was paid sometime in October or November last year,” he said.

Ajayi’s statement was in response to claims made by some governors, including Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and Niger State Governor Abdullahi Sule, who denied receiving any money from the Federal Government, except for the World Bank loan.

Makinde had said: “This is yet another case of misrepresentation of facts. The said funds were part of the World Bank-assisted NG-CARES project—a Programme for Results intervention.

“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 states, 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.”