Date Published: 10/04/11

N200bn approved loan: We’ve spent N40bn loan on projects —Amaechi

THE Rivers State government has said it has, so far, accessed about N40 billion out of the N200 billion loan approved by the State House of Assembly two months ago.

Governor Rotimi Ama-echi made the disclosure at a three-day retreat tagged, “Effective Governance: The Role of the Legislature,” organised by the state assembly for its members, at Tinapa Resort, Calabar, Cross River State, on Tuesday.

He noted that the government had earlier hesitated to take the loan but observed that so far, it had fast track  the execution of some ongoing projects, adding that “if you didn’t approve that loan by now, we would have been struggling with the federal allocation to execute our projects.”

The governor, therefore, assured the state legislature that the loan would be utilised effectively, as the sum of N5 billion had been paid to service the facility, while promising that his administration would not leave any debt for the next administration.

Also from the loan, Governor Amaechi said he would direct the disbursement of N10 billion for the completion of some of the model schools, adding that so far, about 476 had been completed out of the 750 billed to be built across the state.

He challenged the assembly on promoting good economic governance in the lawmaking process.

Later in his remarks, Cross River State governor, Senator Liyel Imoke, commended the assembly for choosing the state as venue for the retreat, as he expressed hope that the cordial relationship between the states would be maintained.