President Muhammadu Buhari has requested the approval of the Senate for a $75 million (N14.7bn) credit facility from the World Bank on behalf of the Edo State Government.
Buhari, in a letter addressed to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and read on the floor, explained that the amount was the second tranche of the $225 million development policy programme approved for the state by the world body in 2012.
The president further explained that the executive directors of the bank approved the second tranche of the loan having expressed satisfaction with the successful usage of the first tranche of $75 million earlier released for the implementation of the 2012 to 2014 development programme.
Buhari’s letter reads in part, “I am writing to seek the consideration from the National Assambly an approval for the request from Edo State Government to obtain a $75 million credit facility from the World Bank.
“You may wish to know that the World Bank had approved a development policy programme for the total sum of $225m to Edo State Government in 2012 to be implemented in three tranches of $75m per annum.
“The first tranche was approved by the National Assembly in the 2012/2014 Federal Government external ruling borrowing plan.
“The Development Policy Operation has since been successfully implemented by the state in 2014.”
Following this success, Buhari said the bank’s board of executive directors approved the second tranche and that on April 29 2015, the DPO too was captured in the Federal Government external borrowing plan of 2014/2017 which is pending with the National Assembly.
He said, “It is for the above reason that I seek your favour to facilitate the consideration and approval of the development policy operation 2 loan of $75m to enable the state to consolidate on the gain of the first tranche of the operation DPO 1.”
The president informed the senators that Edo State Government had informed him that the key programme objectives of the DPO were already beginning to show in terms of increased influence of private investment in the state.
He also added that the loan had had tremendous impact in the closed private sector employment opportunities and equally increased internally generated revenues.
Buhari noted that an accelerated approval of the request would help to sustain the gains already achieved with the first tranche.
He added that the letter superceeded an earlier one with reference number HCF/3143/t/137 of 28 July 2015.
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