Bayelsa Assembly approves Diri’s N3.5bn loan request

The Bayelsa State Assembly has again approved a request by Governor Douye Diri, to obtain another loan of N3.5bn loan.

The request was contained in a letter forwarded to the legislative arm by Diri, which was read on the floor of the House, in Yenagoa, during plenary on Wednesday.

The Assembly had in March approved a request by the governor to obtain a loan of N2.9bn loan to buy official vehicles for top government functionaries while in November, he was also given approval to obtain another loan of N17bn from multiple sources to pay the states counterpart funds for the Sustainable Development Goals, oil palm project and funding of state financing gap over a temporary credit facility.

According to the latest letter, the Diri administration is seeking for a fresh N3.5bn loan to enable the state meet its counterpart funding obligations in order to access Universal Basic Education funds.

Moving the motion for the approval of the governor’s request, the Leader of the House, Monday Bubou-Obolo, explained that the N3.5bn was 50 per cent of a total N7bn targeted to fund educational infrastructure in the state.

He claimed that out of the N7bn, the UBE was demanding for Bayelsa’s 50 per cent counterpart fund to enable it access the total sum meant for the state.

Bubou-Obolo, who represents Southern Ijaw Constituency 2, said, “This N3.5bn is a counterpart contribution. What this simply means is that, the UBE headquarters is giving Bayelsa N3.5bn, but before we can get that fund, they are also telling us to provide N3.5bn and they will add their own to make it N7bn.

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“All that money will be used to build schools. At the moment, the state government cannot immediately provide those funds. So, we (the House) have to approve it for the bank to give the loan.”

The 24-member House under the speakership of Abraham Ingobere, unanimously approved the loan request