Enugu Assembly Approves a N170 Billion Loan to the State Govt

The Enugu State House of Assembly on Monday approved the N170b loan requested by Gov. Peter Mbah of Enugu State to execute some major projects in the state.

The assembly’s speaker, Chief Uche Ugwu, read a letter containing the loan request during an emergency plenary on Monday in Enugu.

According to the Speaker, the state government will be able to carry out infrastructure projects in the state with the help of the loans, which will come from the Fidelity and Globus banks.

According to Ugwu’s breakdown of the loan, it consists of a N100 billion Bank Guarantee Line (BGL), a N10 billion Term Loan (TL), a N10 billion Over Draft Facility from the Fidelity Bank, and a N50 billion Credit Facility from the Globus Bank.

He made a suggestion that the BGL would act as a guarantee payment for contracts given to the contractors, China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), and others for the execution of projects that the state government would be undertaking.

Regarding the Term loan, the Speaker stated that the loan’s interest rate was 22% per year, subject to revision in accordance with current money market conditions, and that the loan’s repayment term was 48 months.

Ugwu emphasized that the Over Draft Facility loan had a 12-month repayment period and would guarantee the timely payment of employee salaries in addition to arranging for other ongoing expenses.

On October 6, according to the speaker, the State Executive Council approved the loans.

In his remarks, the minority leader of the House, Mr. Iloabuchi Aniagu, praised the state governor for promptly forwarding the loan request.

Aniagu claims that the loans will make it possible for the state government to carry out its plans for the state’s good citizens’ development.