Fresh N20 Billion Bond: Governor Gets Stern Warning From Opposition Party

30.12.2015 13:21

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara state has been given a stern warning by the state chapter of the Labour Party (LP) on his intention to access fresh N20 billion bond from the capital market.

Kwara state labour party in a letter signed by the chairman, Johnson Babalola, and Secretary, Abdulkareem Onagun warned Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed against accessing N20 billion bond.

The party in a letter addressed to the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, a copy obtained by NAN in Ilorin, on Tuesday, December 29, criticized the administration’s plan to access a new bond.

The letter which was reportedly signed by the state chairman of the party, Johnson Babalola, and Secretary, Abdulkareem Onagun, is dated December 28, 2015.

According to the party, the letter was their contribution to the public hearing on government plan to access N20 billion from the capital market. The state assembly had scheduled a public hearing on the plan for December 18, but later moved it to December 19 for an interactive session with the governor.

It was gathered that in the interactive session, it was only Governor Ahmed that addressed the people on why the state need the bond.

The party, however, frowned at the last minute cancellation of the public hearing on the issue, saying there is no basis for the state to collect the fund since the people are still suffering from previous loans obtained by the government.

“LP sees the request for another bond as additional burden on the people of Kwara State considering the fact that repayment of the previous bonds has not fully been settled,” it said.

The party went ahead to counsel Ahmed to embrace the strategy of President Muhammadu Buhari to block all revenue leakages and recover looted funds in the state, adding that the itemized projects to be facilitated with the bond could be financed without borrowing if government judiciously utilised its resources.

The party insisted that there is no reason for the state government to take a loan to finance federal roads and projects in the state.

“The party advises the Kwara State Government to come up with a comprehensive list of federal roads that are in bad shape and make strong recommendation to the Federal Government instead of shouldering the burden,” it said.

According to LP, the state government should look for public-private partnership in the funding of some critical infrastructure. It advised the government to look inward and harness the potential of the state, especially in agriculture and solid minerals sectors.

“The party wants the issue of unpaid salaries of workers, especially those in the local government, agencies and tertiary institutions, to be fully resolved without further delay,” it said.

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) recently cleared the air on the reported rift between the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and Kwara state Governor, Alh. Abdulfatah Ahmed.

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