Enugu Assembly wants gov to restructure bank loans into bonds

PERTURBED by the huge debt burden bequeathed to the incumbent administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the Enugu State House of Assembly yesterday authorised the state executive to restructure commercial bank loans obligation obtained by the previous administration into the Federal Government bonds.

The Guardian gathered that the state government is burdened with a debt profile of N7.9 billion obtained by the immediate past administration.

It was further gathered that with long payment arrangement as initiated by the Federal Government, the loans would be offset between 15 and 20 years.

The motion to allow the Executive restructure the loan into bond was sponsored by the Leader of the House, Ikechukwu Ezeugwu (PDP, Udenu Constituency) and 21 other members that included the Deputy Speaker, Donatus Uzogbado (PDP, Oji River Constituency) as well as the Chief Whip, Mathias Ekweremadu (PDP, Aninri Constituency).

Contributing to the debate on the motion, Uzogbado lauded the previous administration which left the debt burden of over N7 billion as being prudent in expenditure owing to the paucity of funds accrued to the state.

Uzogbado said the motion was important, as it would reduce the monthly repayment loan of N400 million to a lesser amount to enable the government carry out development programmes.

Ekweremadu said the long-term idea of paying the loan “will help us as a party and a government to do the needful for the people.”

In his own contribution, the member representing Awgu North Constituency (PDP), Sunday Ude-Okoye, said the motion was not a contentious one as they were not asking for more funds and urged his colleagues to give their support to it.

He said: “I see it as a motion like the kind of mission the UN does to rescue our states from financial quagmire that we are into. If it is passed, it will help us as a state. If we don’t do this, what it simply means is that all our campaign promises will be tampered with. I have seen that the Federal Government meant well by bringing out this kind of idea that loans owed commercial banks be converted into bonds.”

Speaker of the House, Edward Ubosi (PDP, Enugu East), commended his colleagues for granting the request to allow the loan be converted to bonds and described the Federal Government’s intervention as timely.