Following ex-president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s counsel that the Federal Government should not secure $29.9billion, President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, to engage the ex-President on the facts-behind-the-figures in respect of the loans. The Finance Minister, who is said to be a “goddaughter” of the ex-President, is expected to get a feedback from Obasanjo to the government.
A top government source told THE NATION that: “We are going ahead with the loans, but we will allay the fears of ex-President Obasanjo with necessary documents on the sources and plans. I think the ex-President needs some details. We are certainly going to engage Obasanjo. We will not take issues with him in the media. It is to the credit of Obasanjo that he secured debt reliefs for the nation. We want him to realize that we are not out to pile up fresh debts for the nation.
“These loans are coming from some liberal creditors including the World Bank, Africa Development Bank (AfDB), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) and China EximBank. What Nigerians do not know is that we had many offers but were careful in selecting our loan facilitators. For instance, the Buhari administration rejected loan offers from the International Monetary Funds (IMF) because of Nigerians’ attitude to the international agency for such a bail out in 1990. Yet out of the $29.9 billion loans, the Federal Government’s share is $25.8 billion while the states will enjoy $4.1 billion facility.”
The source further said: “There is no way we can even implement 2017 budget without the loans. We are in dire straits. We need some breather to revive the economy. It is not physical cash as being assumed. All the institutions will be involved in the management of the loans to ensure judicious use. And for a prudent government like that of Buhari, there is 100 per cent assurance that the loans will not be mismanaged unlike the case in the past.”
The source gave insights into the loans as follows:
-The external borrowing plan is a three-year plan covering proposed projects for 2016 – 2018. As such, the borrowings will be phased over the three-year period.
-The borrowings are highly concessional (non-commercial) with low interest rates and long tenors.
-The funding is being sought from multilateral institutions including the World Bank, Africa Development Bank (AfDB), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) and China EximBank.
– The planned Eurobond issuance in the international capital markets is the only commercial source of funding.
The post President Buhari to secure $29.9billion loan despite Obasanjo’s counsel appeared first on Dawn-To-Dusk News.