OYO ASSEMBLY APPROVES MAKINDE’S ₦100BN LOAN, ₦300BN DEBT REFINANCING

The Oyo State House of Assembly has approved Governor Seyi Makinde’s request for a ₦100 billion loan from United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc to fund infrastructure projects, alongside a ₦300 billion facility to refinance an existing contractors’ finance loan obtained from Access Bank.

The request was conveyed in a letter addressed to the Speaker of the House, Adebo Ogundoyin, and read during plenary on Wednesday, October 21, 2026.

The ₦100 billion loan is intended to provide additional funding for ongoing infrastructure projects and other development initiatives across the state, while the ₦300 billion facility is designed to transfer the government’s existing contractors’ finance obligations from Access Bank to UBA.

Under the proposed refinancing arrangement, the interest rate on the existing Access Bank facility will be reduced from 26 per cent to 22 per cent, a four-percentage-point decrease intended to lower the state government’s borrowing costs.

The separate ₦100 billion loan will also attract an interest rate of 22 per cent, subject to review in line with prevailing money market conditions, and will have a repayment period of 48 months.

Its terms include a management fee of 0.25 per cent per annum and an advisory fee of 0.5 per cent annually, both calculated on the outstanding balance. The facility also provides for a three-month moratorium on principal and interest repayments. 

Interest accruing during the moratorium will be repaid alongside the fourth, fifth and sixth instalments, respectively.

During deliberations, Deputy Speaker Muhammad Abiodun Fadeyi and lawmakers Adebayo Babajide Gabriel, Olorunpoto Cephas Rahman and Sunkanmi Babalola highlighted the importance of sustained infrastructure investment to the state’s development.

They cited projects including the LAUTECH Teaching Hospital in Oyo town, the Rashidi Ladoja Circular Road and the Ido-Eruwa Road, noting that completing ongoing projects would help translate existing investments into benefits for residents.

The lawmakers also pointed to the potential for infrastructure development to create employment, stimulate commercial activity, and improve the movement of people and goods across the state.

The approval comes as questions have been raised by the opposition over the state’s borrowing plans. On October 20, the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Oyo State, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, urged the Makinde administration to explain the justification and repayment terms for the proposed ₦100 billion loan, while also seeking details of the state’s earlier debt-refinancing plans.

The latest approval covers the fresh ₦100 billion borrowing for infrastructure and the separate ₦300 billion refinancing arrangement involving the existing Access Bank facility.