FG to grant to states N90bn loan with conditions
Adetokunbo Fakeye
Federal Government in an effort to ensure that states are economically vibrant and depend less on the monthly handout from the Federation Account on Tuesday said it will grant a N90 billion loan to the states.
The loan, according to report, will cover a period of one year.
However, the loan will be extended to the state governments after they meet 22 stringent conditions put together by the federal government.
Addressing journalists at a stakeholders’ meeting held with states’ Commissioners of Finance on the Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP), the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, said “the loan is in two tranches – N50 billion for three months to be shared across the 36 states including FCT and then N40 billion for nine months.”
“The idea is to tie states over for a year so that they rebalance. The loan is an average of about N1.3 billion per state for the first three months and N1.1billion for the next nine months.”
“It is a loan and it is fully repayable although it has a secured tie against future dividends, revenues and any amount that government might owe the states.”
