17 states to benefit from Fed Govt’s $29.9b loan

Seventeen states of the federation are to benefit from the 2016/2018 Medium Term Development Plan of the Federal Government which is expected to be financed from the $29.9 billion loan being sought by President Muhammadu c.

The states, according to a document sighted by The Nation yesterday in Abuja, include Kaduna, Ogun, Borno, Yobe, Adamawa. Gombe, Delta, Imo, Plateau. Bauchi, Anambra, Ekiti, Lagos, Ebonyi. Abia, Katsina and Jigawa.

It was learnt that $364million  of the loan will also be used for financing Nigerian Electricity Transmission and Access Project, $500 million for Social Inclusion and Welfare Advancement project while $300million will go to Power Sector Guarantees Project to guarantee investors’ fund.

About $200 million of the loan will be set aside to implement economic reforms and governance project, $100 million for staple processing support project, while $88 million is to be deployed to the development of the mining sector.

The government, it was learnt, also intends to set aside $2.5 billion to serve as budget support loan to bridge the gap in the budget and cut the deficit occasioned by the sharp drop in oil price.

According to a breakdown of states that would benefit from the facility, Kaduna State is expected to benefit to the tune of $350 million to enable it implement its development plan including policy and institutional reforms, while Ogun State will receive $350 million to fund development plan.

Also Borno, Yobe and Adamawa are to benefit in the area of community and social development projects at the cost of $75 million, while Gombe, Delta, Imo, Plateau, Adamawa and Bauchi will have $90 million devoted for providing safe drinking and sanitation facilities.

On the other hand, Anambra, Bauchi and Ekiti states will be sharing from $100 million  funds for education while Lagos State is benefit from $200 million projects meant to improve power transmission to support industries in the state.

Both Enonyi and Abia states are to get funding support for road projects to the tune of $70 million and $100 million respectively; Katsina State is to get $110 million to be used for the rehabilitation and construction of health facilities, including health equipment while Jigawa State will get $32 million for the execution of integrated rural development projects.

However, Director-General,  Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu said Buhari’s plan for the utilisation of the foreign loan will cover several critical infrastructure and development needs.