N90b bailout: Five states meet FG's conditions
Fri Jun 17, 2016 10:19:am National
2.1K By sosa hills
5 states rush for FG's Five states have met the 22 stringent conditions given by the Federal Government for accessing its N90 billion loan to enable them offset the salary arrears of their workers.
Giving details of the decisions reached at the NEC meeting that was chaired by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, said that the bailout, now christened "Budget Support Loan" will be at nine per cent interest rate.
Although the states were not named, the National Economic Council (NEC) disclosed that the concerned states as well as any other that may meet the conditions will start receiving the funds by next month during the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting.
Many states are unable to pay the salaries of their workers and fund key projects due to the current economy downturn despite a July 2015 Federal Government special intervetion fund of over N300 billion.
The states also enjoyed a debt relief prgramme designed by the Debt Management Office (DMO) which helped them to restructure their commercial loans of over N660billion; before this current attempt to give them extra N90billion.
"Five states have copleted the process for borrowing from the budget support loan," the governor said, adding that the nation's Excess Crude Account (ECA) stood at $2.26 billion as at June 15, 2016.N90b loan
"It is just to make this available; it is not compulsory. What is important is can people have access to a lifeline, you see what is happening today is not peculiar to Nigeria as a country, you know the impact of the fall in crude oil price that has actually gotten to oil producing countries like Nigeria.
"What we are looking at is what are the solutions, we must provide a lifeline for people to survive and to move on, I don't think it's too much," Mr. Emmanuel said, adding that it was too early to list states who have accessed the funds as more may either accept or decline.
"It doesn't actually mean that states which will take this money do not have something accruable also from the federal government. Pending the time we reconcile our book, the federal government may have some balances to settle the state government. But in the meantime we accept this while we are waiting for those reconciliations to be concluded," he said
Giving details of the decisions reached at the NEC meeting that was chaired by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, said that the bailout, now christened "Budget Support Loan" will be at nine per cent interest rate.
Although the states were not named, the National Economic Council (NEC) disclosed that the concerned states as well as any other that may meet the conditions will start receiving the funds by next month during the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting.
Many states are unable to pay the salaries of their workers and fund key projects due to the current economy downturn despite a July 2015 Federal Government special intervetion fund of over N300 billion.
The states also enjoyed a debt relief prgramme designed by the Debt Management Office (DMO) which helped them to restructure their commercial loans of over N660billion; before this current attempt to give them extra N90billion.
"Five states have copleted the process for borrowing from the budget support loan," the governor said, adding that the nation's Excess Crude Account (ECA) stood at $2.26 billion as at June 15, 2016.N90b loan
"It is just to make this available; it is not compulsory. What is important is can people have access to a lifeline, you see what is happening today is not peculiar to Nigeria as a country, you know the impact of the fall in crude oil price that has actually gotten to oil producing countries like Nigeria.
"What we are looking at is what are the solutions, we must provide a lifeline for people to survive and to move on, I don't think it's too much," Mr. Emmanuel said, adding that it was too early to list states who have accessed the funds as more may either accept or decline.
"It doesn't actually mean that states which will take this money do not have something accruable also from the federal government. Pending the time we reconcile our book, the federal government may have some balances to settle the state government. But in the meantime we accept this while we are waiting for those reconciliations to be concluded," he said
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