Details of how Oyo State will access and repay the €55 million French healthcare facility have been provided by Governor Seyi Makinde, who says 35 per cent of the financing has now been converted to a grant.
Makinde disclosed this while addressing workers at the Oyo State Secretariat in Ibadan after returning from leave.
He said the facility carries an interest rate of 0.0006 per cent and will be repaid over 20 years.
The governor explained that 70 per cent of the funds will be paid directly by the French government to companies supplying medical equipment to hospitals in Oyo State, rather than being released as cash to the state government.
According to Makinde, the financing was initially approved for Oyo in 2019 but was delayed after the Federal Government proposed sharing it among other states.
He said the French government rejected the proposal and insisted that the funds be used for Oyo State’s healthcare programme.
The project covers the modernisation of 351 primary healthcare centres, alongside upgrades to emergency, maternity, neonatal and surgical services.
