FG to refund N250bn it owes states through bonds –Fashola

Various state governments, owed over N250 billion that they spent on Government Federal roads can only be refunded if the bonds to be floated in that regard will be successfully patronised.

This is according to Power, Works and Housing Minister, Mr. Babatunde Fashola.

Though Fashola referred to the total amount as “several billions of naira” data from the Records Department of his ministry estimates the figure, covering 2014 to 2016 at about N200 billion, among the amount so far cleared, with another N50 billion yet to be certified.

The minister who stated this on Saturday when he paid a courtesy call on the Enugu State governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi said: “My message from the Federal Government is that we have completed the assessment of all these claims and our plan is to issue bonds to pay those monies and we will pay the bonds back over time.”

The minister appealed to state governments not to relent in their efforts at helping contractors handling federal roads in their domain to source funds and secure the right of way, adding that the contractors should always be assisted towards mobilizing to sites.

Acknowledging neglect of federal roads in the South East, Fashola appealed for patience, pledging that one of the reasons for his tour of the geo-political zone was to have firsthand fact on the condition of the roads in the area.

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But Ugwuanyi, represented by his Deputy, Mrs. Cecelia Ezeilo, lamented on the hardship, which the people of the region are passing through over bad road and which compels the governors to take the responsibilities of rehabilitating both the Federal and state-owned roads.

Hear her: “The people of the entire South East region have for long suffered untold hardship arising from the collapse of most of the federal roads.

“This of course, has been a great cause for concern for us as a people and has continued to attract comments and complaints from well-meaning citizens and organisations across the country and even beyond.”

Critics have also faulted the idea of the Federal Government delaying refund of the monies that states have spent on its roads as retrogressive.

Chief Gabriel Ezenkonye, an Onitisha-based businessman condemned the idea of basing refunds of such money on floating of bonds, adding, “If the government at the centre is paying its contractors cash from the budget provision, why should the same method not been used to settle states owed by the federal government?”

Another commentator and a contractor with one of south eastern states, Mr. Dickson Alao said the method would put the affected states in a bad relationship with firms handling the jobs.

 

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