By YEKINI JIMOH, Lokoja

The Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has disclosed that the 36 states governors received N1billion each from the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Government to quench the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Governors were also said to have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the World Bank to receive a sum of N1.1billion for the same purpose.

Governor Bello made this revelation, on Tuesday, while on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily.

According to him, all the state governors have since received the N1billion from the Federal Government, he, however, said he was the only state governor who refused to sign an MoU with the World Bank.

When asked why he received the COVID-19 fund from the Federal Government despite not believing in the virus, Bello said: “Even though we did not have COVID-19 in Kogi State, we were equally affected; because our economy was affected, Federal Government released that fund to assist every states and we cannot reject it.

He stated that he refused to sign the World Bank MoU because it was a one-sided agreement or document.

“Go and check records. Kogi State is the only state that refused to sign that document for N1.1bilion because I don’t believe in COVID-19. N500million has been disbursed, Kogi State did not receive, I refused to receive and I rejected it,” he said.

The Kogi Governor debunked allegations that his government hoarded the CA-COVID relief packages in Lokoja or anywhere in the state as being rumoured.

The allegations, he said, were to discredit state governors and the Federal Government.

He mentioned that his government distributed palliatives to 20 out of 21 local governments in Kogi State, stressing that the palliative distribution for Lokoja local government was on until imported hoodlums tried to interfere.

“We as a state have been distributing palliatives to our people long before this COVID-19 era. Our state is prone to flood, so palliative distribution from us is a normal thing.

“Poverty in Nigeria is a result of the maladministration of former governments. From the Federal level to state and local levels, we are doing our best to reduce the poverty rate.

“Looting is not a result of poverty. Looting is also experienced even in wealthy countries like the United States of America during the Black lives matter protest, so Looting is not completely a product of poverty. Let us not set ourselves against each other. We must organise ourselves and speak well about our country,” he said.

(Text, excluding headline, courtesy Nigerian Tribune)

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