In a nationwide broadcast on Sunday, Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, announced that the government had disbursed over N400 billion to states.
Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, has urged state governments to account for the N438 billion distributed to support businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Falana emphasized that with President Tinubu confirming the disbursement, Nigerians deserve a detailed explanation of how these funds were utilized for anti-poverty programs.
Falana pointed out that the N438 billion, part of the $750 million World Bank loan, will eventually be repaid by the Nigerian populace. This loan was secured to implement the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG CARES) program, aimed at aiding businesses hit by the pandemic. Initially, in March 2022, the federal government disbursed an advance of N35.3 billion to all states.
He further noted that in April 2023, under the Buhari administration, the federal government released an additional N77 billion to the states and the FCT for the NG-CARES program, bringing the total to N112 billion.
Falana stated, “In 2023, the federal government approved the release of N135.4 billion as reimbursement to states and the FCT for the implementation of the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG CARES) Programme.”
He also mentioned that in July 2024, the federal government disbursed over N438 billion to 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory under the Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus programme. However, Kaduna and Anambra states were excluded as they did not present results for verification during the exercise.
Falana highlighted that the president confirmed a total of N573 billion had been disbursed over nine months to combat multidimensional poverty in the country.
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