At least 28 states get over N373bn bailout in 5 months - FG

Following the outcry from some state governors in the face of dwindling revenues, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Wednesday said, it has so far doled out to them, a total of N373.56 billion under the Salary Bailout Intervention Facility.

This was contained in a paper presented by the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma at the just concluded National Economic Council (NEC) Retreat held at the presidential villa, Abuja

He revealed that some of the states which benefited from the bailout fund includes, Kwara, Zamfara, Osun, Niger, Bauchi, Gombe, Abia, Adamawa, Ondo, and Kebbi.

Others were Ekiti, Imo, Ebonyi, Ogun, Plateau, Nassarawa, Sokoto, Edo and Oyo States.

The paper, titled Strategic Implementation Plan for the 2016 Budget of Change', explained that the 28 beneficiary states received the funds between August 2015 and January 2016.

It also revealed that 23 states had their outstanding bank loans totalling to N575.52 billion restructured into 20-years Federal Government Bonds.

The paper noted that Nigeria's external reserves reduced from $37.5 billion in June 2014 to $27.8 billion as at middle of March, 2016 while the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stands at less than 5 percent, in comparison to the 17 percent obtainable in other emerging markets.

According to Udoma's presentation, the 2016 Budget is intended to reflate the economy through government expenditure led growth strategy with emphasis on infrastructure development.

"Most of the policies, programmes and projects will need the support of state governments for effective implementation", he said.

Related News

500
Leave a comment...