‘Why we got approval for N41bn loan in Benue’

The Benue State government has explained why it got fresh approval of a N41 billion loan facility from the State House of Assembly, saying it was rather a revalidation of the 2015 bailouts to states of the federation.

Daily Trust reports that the approval for the loan which was given by the Assembly last week stirred up controversy among citizens of the state.

But, State Commissioner of Finance, Dr David Olofu, while reacting to the controversy surrounding the facility at a press conference in Makurdi, said the loan was not fresh borrowing but the remaining part of the bailout money not yet accessed by the state.

He further explained that the Benue state government made several efforts over the years to get the N41bn balance released to it out of N69bn bailout meant for the state but such efforts could not yield results as the Federal Government was not forthcoming until recently.

“The N41bn loan facility the Benue State House of Assembly approved a few days ago was therefore only a revalidation of the application for the pending bailout of N41bn and not a fresh loan approval. Out of the N41bn, N17bn will go for payment of the arrears of salaries and pensions at the state level, while N24bn will go to local governments,” he said.