Sharafadeen Alli, the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Oyo State, has warned Governor Seyi Makinde against diverting the €55m French concessional loan obtained by the state to fund his presidential campaign.
Alli, in a statement on Tuesday by his campaign organisation, also cautioned the governor against using the facility to execute what he described as hastily conceived and politically motivated projects in the final months of his administration.
Makinde, who is the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, is also backing the party’s governorship candidate, Bimbo Adekanmbi, to succeed him.
The French government approved the €55m concessional loan on January 13, 2022, to strengthen health facilities and modernise primary healthcare centres across Oyo State.
Further processes, including concurrent approval by the Oyo State House of Assembly, were completed in July 2025, while the revised terms were endorsed in November of the same year.
Under the revised terms, repayment of the facility is expected to commence around 2030 or 2031, depending on the date of the first disbursement.
Alli said the facility represented a significant financial obligation for the state, with repayment estimated at about N85bn expected to commence under the next administration.
The APC candidate alleged that the Makinde administration had already constituted a committee to determine how the money would be spent on projects with only a few months remaining in the governor’s tenure.
He urged the governor to exercise restraint and ensure that the facility was used strictly for its intended healthcare purposes.
“Coming at an election season, a cloud of doubt hangs over the sincerity of the Makinde-led government on the hurriedly conceived and ill-thought-out financial decisions that will further increase the already heavy burden imposed on the state since 2019,” Alli said.
While expressing support for genuine initiatives aimed at improving healthcare delivery in Oyo State, Alli demanded full disclosure of the loan agreement and its implementation arrangements.
He called for the publication of details covering the loan’s terms, disbursement schedule, contractors, procurement procedures, implementation timeline and beneficiary hospitals.
“Oyo State citizens and residents deserve to know how every euro will be spent,” he said.
Alli warned against the possibility of inflated contracts, hurried procurement processes and questionable consultancy fees in the implementation of projects financed with the facility.
“The money must not be seen as another opportunity for inflated contracts, hurried procurements, questionable consultancy fees or projects disguised to primarily fund political activities,” he said.
The APC candidate also urged the governor to ensure that projects funded with the loan were completed and independently verified before the expiration of his administration.
“Makinde must resist the temptation to commit the state to opaque contracts or commence projects that cannot be completed and independently verified before he leaves office,” Alli said.
He called on the Oyo State House of Assembly, civil society organisations, professional healthcare bodies and the media to closely monitor the utilisation of the loan.
Alli said the state needed sustainable investments in healthcare rather than projects that would have limited impact on residents.
“The people of Oyo State need functional hospitals, trained medical personnel, essential medicines, modern equipment and accessible healthcare—not cosmetic renovations, abandoned structures or projects existing only in government publicity materials,” he said.
He added that transparency and measurable value should guide public borrowing, stressing that every loan contracted in the name of the people should translate into visible and sustainable benefits for residents.
