Enugu govt refutes secrecy in approval of N14.2bn loan

ENUGU—THE Enugu State government has described as untrue, the report, it secretly approved N14.2BN for Gov Ugwuanyi, insisting the approval passed through transparent and very open processes that resulted in the approval given by the Enugu State Executive arm of government.

In a statement, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Uwakwe Abugu noted that, “The State House of Assembly received memos from the executive to procure two separate loans from the
Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. The loans – N4.207 billion meant for payment of  arrears of pensions and salaries owed some categories of public servants, and N10 billion that would be used for development and other infrastructural projects  embarked upon by the state government.

“The loans are part of the general bailout arrangement of the Federal Government to help the state governments out of their financial predicament in the wake of the global glut in the crude oil market.

Enugu State government began the process for procuring the loans through two separate Executive Council (EXCO) memos by the state  Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Mrs. Eucharia Offor, which were exhaustively deliberated upon during the council meeting of Monday, September 21, 2015.

“On that same day, the state House of Assembly also sat and, among other issues of the day, deliberated on a motion on notice presented by the leader of the House, Ikechukwu Ezugwu, seeking the approval of the said loans.

“Newsmen and other members of the public occupied the gallery and watched the House proceedings live.”