The Rivers State Government and the Peoples Democratic Party in the state are currently at loggerheads over the request by the state Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, for a $280m loan for water and sanitation projects.
The state House of Assembly had on Monday endorsed Amaechi’s request for loan for water supply and sanitation projects. But the state PDP, in a statement, signed by the Special Adviser to its Chairman, Jerry Needam, said the request for loan was aimed at punishing the governor’s successor in 2015.
The state PDP said that the latest request for loan by the state government was unnecessary due to the resources accruing to the state through the federal allocation and internally generated revenue.
The party called on members of the House of Assembly, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the African Development Bank and the World Bank not to honour the loan requests in order to avoid being held responsible as one of the institutions causing confusion in the state.
The PDP stated, “Whether the loans have short or long term repayment conditions, it is immaterial at this point. For any society that lives on loans has no future and can never develop its own potential.
“It is unfortunate this is all Amaechi can wish a highly prosperous state like Rivers, the natural seat of oil and gas, a natural resource that has made heaven of the nations that have it.”
However, a statement signed by the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Ibim Semenitari, described the position of the state PDP as misleading and mischievous, adding that the governor was running a transparent and accountable government.
Semenitari recalled that the Rivers State Government had applied for and secured a loan package from the AfDB and the World Bank in 2012, for a World Bank-assisted water scheme in the state.
“The rule is that the national government would need to endorse the release of the loan, after the Rivers State House of Assembly would have approved it.
“Everything else was done, but for reasons unknown to the Rivers State Government, the responsible officers at the Federal Ministry of Finance failed to sign for the release of funds, therefore denying the people of the state access to good water.
“Not willing to give up, the Rivers State Government continued to push and the scheme with the loan was again approved in the 2014 budget. Now, the Federal Government has finally signed off for this fund to be drawn down for work to start.
“But due process required that the Rivers State House of Assembly endorsed it once more. This is what necessitated the re-presentation of the old loan to the House.
“However, true to type, Obuah’s PDP, uncaring of the truth and in what has become its masterful display of ignorance and blind mischief, has announced that the Rivers State Government is taking a fresh loan and that this is for the 2015 elections,” she added.
Semenitari accused the PDP of leading the nation’s economy on a downwards trend through its lack of prudence and irresponsible stewardship of national resources.
“Nigerians are still waiting for the report of the probe into the $48.9bn NNPC funds. In the meantime, delegates at the National Conference have alleged another missing N730bn from the Nigeria Ports Authority.
“Rather than address these issues, the PDP is sending Nigerians off on a wild goose chase. But while the PDP can deceive some of the people, some of the time, it cannot deceive all the people, all the time,” she said.
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