The loan request of $75 million by the government of Edo state sailed through on Thursday as the Senate granted its final approval. Although a pocket of protest greeted the attempt to grant the loan request, majority of Senators threw their support on the basis that request was for approval of the last batch of an existing loan which the world bank had granted Edi State. An Ad-hoc Committee set up to examine the loan request had recommended that the Senate should grant approval.Presenting the Recommendation of the Committee on the loan request, the chairman Senator Kabiru Gaya (Kano South) said members took a holistic view of the performance of the first trench of the loan while available information showed that funds from the Development Project Operations (DMO)I were judiciously used by the state government. Speaking in support of the committee recommendations, Senator Mohammed Aliyu reminded his colleagues that the loan has already been captured in the 2015 appropriations. He urged Senators to be rest assured that the loan will not be diverted as World Bank has internal mechanism used in monitoring the implementation of their loans. In a dissenting voice, Senator Mathew Uroghide (Edo South) said “This request has tremendous credence as it is coming from the President based on the implementation of the 1st trench of the loan but let us not hinge our support on the loan based on the credibility of the President.” “The debt profile of Edo State is high and this could be confirmed in the Debt Management Office(DMO) which has documents on the public domain. “Edo State is one of the states waiting for bailout from the Federal Government to be able to pay salaries. “A lot of public apprehensions have also greeted the loan and many citizens of Edo State are skeptical that since the governor will leave office next year after serving out his full terms, sacrosanct use of the loan is doubtful” The lawmaker, however several text messages purportedly sent to him by indigenes of Edo State calling for the rejection of the loan. The $75m loan from the government of Edo State being part of what the World Bank had approved for Development Project Operation (DMO)II is the second trench of an earlier loan from the same bank used for infrastructure development, provision of social amenities and creation of enabling facilities to enhance private sector driven economy which will ultimately lead to employment opportunities and increase in internally generated revenue (IGR).
Daily Times
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