State governors reject FG’s N162 million monthly repayment plan for bail-out fund – Minister

 

BY OUR EDITOR

State governors, yesterday rejected the proposed plan by the Federal Government to extend the repayment period of its budget support fund to the states from 20 to 30 years.

The implication of the extension is that state governments monthly repayment will reduce from N252 million to N162 million.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the National Economic Council meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The Minister was joined by governors Willy Obiano (Anambra), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun) and Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa) and also the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire.

She said that the Federal Government has made the first and second months, N252 million monthly deductions, in September and October, based on the 20 years repayment period. The new repayment plan was as a result of the outcry by the state governors which extended the year to 30 years and a monthly repayment of N162 million was presented to NEC on Tuesday.

Mrs Ahmed said despite the new repayment plan, the state governors were still not satisfied with the extension to 30 years.

According to her, “The budget support facility was initially for twenty years repayment period. And when we made the first deduction in September, the states had complained that the amount deducted, which was N252 million, was too harsh.

“So, since then, the Central Bank of Nigeria, who is the lender, has revised the condition to make the repayment period longer. And so, the new repayment period is thirty years. And this means that the states will be paying monthly N162 million. But again today, the states still were not satisfied with the condition.

“So, we are expecting that the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, CBN and the states will engage again with the view of having the CBN further revise the condition to reduce the monthly repayment burden.”

She said as at 22nd October 2019, funds at the Excess Crude Account stood at $324,035,696.29, while stabilisation fund account was in the margin of N28,560,710,627.55 and the development of the natural resource fund account averaging N70,691,826,511.84 respectively.

Fielding question on the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) opposition to the compulsory migration of all federal government staff to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), the Minister declared that the body must abide by the Federal Government’s decision on the matter.

She said: “I didn’t see the notice that ASUU is going to go on strike if they are forced to be on the IPPIS. The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria directed that every agency of government, every staff must be on IPPIS. And my job is to comply with the President’s directive. That is what I do and we are going to do that.

“It is a pity if ASUU carries out this strike threat because what ASUU is saying now means that they must be treated differently from all other staff of the government of Nigeria who are also on IPPIS.

“We will be engaging ASUU, we will be discussing with them but at the end of the day as far as I am concerned my instruction is from the President.”