HOUSE of Assembly has approved N65.7 billion loan request by Governor Ibikunle Amosun for developmental purposes.
Governor Amosun, in a letter on January 23, wrote the House seeking its approval for loan from domestic and foreign banks.
The letter was read on the floor of the House by the Speaker of the Assembly, Honourable Suraj Adekunbi, on Tuesday.
The motion for the approval was moved by the Majority Leader, Honourable Yinka Mafe, during plenary on Thursday, seconded by Honourable Razak Oduntan.
Mafe explained to the House that the loan facility had been provided for as capital receipt in the 2017 budget.
“The money is provided for in the budget for income apart from the Federal allocation and the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state.
“We have provided for capital receipt that the government can borrow up to but not above N65.7 billion.
“It is very strategic for the government to get this approval so that they can look for where they can get this loan and the request says the payment period is about 10 years which is good for the state.”
It is also important to know that the request is coming in and it’s making a specific request for a single digit interest rate which is not very common in the open market now.
“We know the commercial rate for loans nowadays which is between 23 per cent and 29 per cent, the single digit loan will be good for the people of Ogun State,” he said.
Corroborating Mafe, the chairman, House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Honourable Olusola Bankole, stressed the need for the Assembly to approve the loan.
“Approving the loan facility will ensure that all projects embarked upon by the government will be completed at the stipulated time.
“We are not putting the state in any financial mess, we have looked at it critically, if we can give the opportunity to the government, it will ensure that all projects are completed, ” he added.
However, the Minority Leader, Honourable Wale Alausa,called for the list of the projects that the loan facility was targeted at.
“ My concern about this approval will be that if we have a list of the projects that this loan facility is targeted at, we will be able to monitor.”he said.yinka Olukoya—Abeokuta, Ogun State
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