Amid protest, Senate approves Oshiomhole’s $75m World Bank loan

In spite of opposition from Senator Uroghede Matthew (PDP, Edo South) that such a move would increase the debt burden on the state, the Senate on Thursday approved a $75 million (N14.7 billion) World Bank loan for Edo State Government.
President Muhammadu Buhari had requested the Senate to approve the loan a few weeks ago.
The approval was sequel to the adoption of the report of the Senate’s ad hoc committee on local and foreign ‎debts, and opposition from Senator Matthew, who expressed reservations about the loan could not sway the legislators.
According to him, he had received over 2000 text messages from his constituents asking that the loan request be rejected.
Senator Matthew argued that Nigeria’s Debt Management Office had ranked Edo state as the 4th most indebted state in the country, stressing that granting the loan would increase the state’s debt burden.
But the lawmakers said the approval was in recognition of the fact that the loan request was part of N44.1billion ($225million) total credit facility for the state which the Senate had already approved in 2012.

Read also: Oshiomhole mortgaging Edo future with reckless loans-PDP

Chairman of the ad hoc committee, Senator Kabiru Gaya, explained that funds from the loan facility will be used to finance key programmes of the state to stimulate internally generated revenue.
Gaya said, “It is worthy to note that World Bank normally presents strict criteria for intending borrowing organisation to fulfill as a pre-requisite ‎ to assessing the facility.
“It is gratifying to note that Lagos and Edo States are the only sub national government in Nigeria to meet the stringent conditions of the World Bank to qualify for the Development Policy Operation”.

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