Oyo state Governor, Seyi Makinde, has pleaded with World Bank over its withdrawal of funding support for the Second Pool of Long – Term Investment (PLT12) implemented under the Ibadan Flood Management Project (IUFMP) in Oyo State. The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, who made this known to newsmen, said the World Bank should recommence the project for the benefit of Oyo state.
World Bank reported that the purpose for the termination of the funding support was the failure of the state government to conclude the contract award of the successful bidders for the four lots (3A, 3B, 4A & 4B) under the bank’s international competitive bidding process.
In a letter signed by its Country Director for Nigeria, Western and Central Africa Region, Shubham Chaudhuri, and addressed to Governor Seyi Makinde, the bank disclosed the cancellation of the project and the withdrawal of $52 million (N26 billion) funding support.
The bank frowned at the failure of the State government to “meet the basic condition for the no objection for the three companies that emerged under the World Bank supervised bidding process since May 05, 2021 and the poor response time of the government to IUFMP activities largely has affected the agency’s ability to perform effectively.”