Oyo State Assembly on Thursday granted the request of Governor Seyi Makinde to access the over N3billion 2019 FGN UBEC/Oyo SUBEB Intervention counterpart funding.
The approval followed a request of the Governor to access the fund contained in a letter presented to the lawmakers under “Message from the Executive”.
The letter read at plenary by Speaker Adebo Ogundoyin.
Prior to the approval, the lawmakers commended the Governor for providing the necessary counterpart funding to access the intervention fund.
According to the details of the letter, the money was meant to be used to enhance teaching, promote a conducive environment for learning, construct classrooms and provide furniture in public primary and secondary schools in the state.
The funding, according to the arrangement, requires the state and federal government to contribute an equal amount of N1.519b to raise a pool of fund of over N3billion to be accessed by the state.
The Minority leader Asimiyu Alarape and Bamidele Adeola appreciated the Governor for giving education in the state the special consideration needed.
The minority leader, who noted that the House is approving the loan because of its necessity, explained that such approval will help the Oyo state government access UBEC funds.
He noted that several schools in the state need urgent intervention, adding that the House is not a rubber stamp but doing the needful in the interest of the state.
But the Chief Whip Akeem Adediran appealed to the executive arm to ensure the fund is spread to schools across zones of the state to make everyone benefit from the pool.
Before calling for voice vote which went the way of the ‘ayes’, the Speaker explained that the approval was not a loan as may be misconstrued but joint funding between the Federal and State Government.
He added that such move was in the right direction at moving the state forward, especially in the area of better and quality education.
