The Oyo State government has condemned some certain “misinformation, misconception and outright mischief” in the interpretations being given to the N7.6 billion agriculture loan, which the state government on Thursday secured the nod of the state House of Assembly to access.
In a statement by Mr Taiwo Adisa, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde, on Saturday, indicated that the government had equally noticed the “deliberate misconceptions and misinformation on the loan facility,” saying it was an attempt to colour the truth to confuse the unsuspecting members of the public.
The statement maintained that the administration of former Governor Abiola Ajimobi had obtained the said loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria and that Governor Makinde, had, in the interest of the state, prevented the past government from squandering the loan at the twilight of the administration.
The statement read: “Governor Makinde is not seeking a fresh loan. The action that was taken by the House of Assembly of Oyo State on Thursday was to give the legislative nod to the state government to access the fund that had already been domiciled with the government since the days of ex-Governor Ajimobi.
“The governor’s decision to approach the House of Assembly was a mark of his belief in due process, the rule of law and its processes. Ordinarily, some state executives would just have proceeded to spend the funds since it was already in the coffers of the state, but Governor Makinde won’t do that,” it read.
However, the governor had arrive to the decision to devote the said loan to the reconstruction and standardisation of the farm settlements in Eruwa and Akufo area of Ibadan.
According to the statement, the two farm settlements are to be built into farm estates in line with the vision of the Makinde administration to ensure the utilisation of the agriculture value chain for economic expansion and to boost of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
Recall in 2017, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had approved some funds under the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACs) for disbursement to four states including Ekiti, Osun, Oyo and Abia.
