Taraba Assembly Approves Gov. Agbu Kefas Request to Access Loan
Taraba state House of Assembly on Friday approved the request of Governor Agbu Kefas to access a loan facility of N206.776,000,000 from four Nigeria commercial Banks.
In a letter sent to the house and read by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. John Kizito Bonzena, dated 2/07/2023, explained that the loan is to enable the state governor embark on developmental activities for the state.
The latter read. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL TO ENABLE THE STATE GOVERNMENT ACCESS LOAN FACILITIES OF TWO HUNDRED AND SIX BILLION, SEVEN HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-SIX MILLION NAIBA (N206.776,000,000) FROM FOUR (4) COMMERCIAL BANKS
Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, one of the cardinal points of my administration is to entrench good governance and improve the livelihood of our people. Accordingly, my administration is desirous of providing massive infrastructural development across the State as well as payment of outstanding gratuities to the Retirees of our dear State.
Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members may wish to note that, despite the above beautiful desires of my administration for our State, we are faced with the challenge of financial constraint affecting the State against meeting up with my administration’s Strategic Five Finger Development Agenda.
Consequently, Honourable Members, Executive Council resolved to access loan facilities to the total tune of Two Hundred and Six Billion, Seven Hundred and Seventy-Six Million naira (N206,776,000,000) naira only from the following four (4) financial institutions as follows:
(1) Zenith Bank Plc: N83.3 Billion
(ii) UBA Plc: N50 Billion
(iii) Fidelity Bank Plc: N50 Billion
(iv) Key Stone Bank Plc N23.476 Billion
The Security of the facility from Zenith Bank Plc shall be deductions from FAAC, Security for the facility from UBA Plc shall be deductions from JAAC, while Security for the facility from Fidelity Bank shall be deductions from VAT and the Security for the facility from Key Stone Bank shall be deductions from IGR.
The interest rate for the facilities shall be 18% with administrative charges at 5% deductible offront, the tenor of the facilities is four (4) years. Other conditions of the facilities shall be forwarded to the Honourable House by the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning.
Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, for the avoidance of doubt, the above listed facilities if secured by the State Government, the funds shall be channeled to develop the following critical sectors of the State, viz
(i) Education: N50 Billion
(ii) Agriculture: N30 Billion
(iii) Health: N30 Billion
(iv) Security: N30 Billion
(V) Infrastructural Development: N40 Billion
(vi) Micro-Finance Bank: N5 Billion
(vii) House of Assembly: N5 Billion
(viii) Judiciary: N5 Billion
(ix) Women Affairs: N2 Billion
(X) Digital Economy: N2 Billion
(Xi) Waste Management: N2 Billion
(xii) Other Sectors: N5.476 Billion
Honourable Members, I therefore on the basis of the foregoing, invite the Honourable Members to grant approval to enable the State Government access the above facilities in the best interest of the citizenry” it read.
Meanwhile, the house however approved that 5bn, from the approved loan be set aside to settle gratuity and enroll more local government retirees into the state pension payroll.
Correspondent reports that, the house also passed into law, the Taraba state 2023 supplementary budget of N206,776,000,000, bringing the total budget to 380,0105,37,459.40.
Gov. Agbu Kefas To Safeguard Public Funds and Promote Responsible Governance
His Excellency, Dr. Agbu Kefas.
He stressed the need for thorough auditing procedures to identify and address any financial leakages within the government’s spending.
The governor’s emphasis highlights his dedication to promoting transparency, accountability, and prudent financial management in Taraba State.
By ensuring that auditing work is conducted diligently, Governor Kefas aims to safeguard public funds and promote responsible governance.
The emphasis on auditing reflect Governor Kefas’ commitment to promoting effective financial management in Taraba State.
“Gov. Ishaku to Complete all Ongoing Projects” – Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning
The commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning in Taraba State Hon. Solomon Elisha have said Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku will complete all the ongoing projects in the state. The commissioner made this remark when presenting to the general public a budget of 149 billion that was signed into law by the governor two weeks ago.
The budget which was prepared using the IPSAS standard is in accordance with five basic parameters which includes a national inflation rate of 13%, national GDP of 4.2%, oil production benchmark of 1.88 million barrel-per-day, oil price benchmark of $57 per barrel and an exchange rate of 410.15 naira.
In his remark, the commissioner said the revenue sources include statutory allocation which is estimated to be 33%, income from value-added 12% and independent internally generated revenue IGR of 6.66 percent while AIDS and grants is expected to be 12.20 2%, loans of 21.5% and other capital receipts and federal government support of about 12.6% of the budget.
The commissioner emphasized the need for ministries, departments and agencies of government in the state to pay close attention to revenue generation as contained in the governor’s budget presentation speech. Some of the remark made by the governor which were re emphasize by the commissioner includes; the need for revenue collection to remain a top most priority and rigorous collection and account for it, he said all ministries, departments and agencies must grow their revenue as emphasize by the governor.
The commissioner said that the state government particularly in this year’s budget will be focusing on areas of economic importance that will improve the well-being of its citizen and this states why 55.98% of the budget amounting to about 40 billion is towards boasting economic activites in the states. Another area which will take about 31.4% of the budget amounting to about 22 billion is the social sector. Governance and administrative will take six billion naira in the budget and law and justice which is about 3.7% of the budget.
State Govt. Calls for Compliance By Local Councils on Review of Revenue Allocation Formula
By Samson Zanunga.
Taraba state Governor Darius Ishaku has called on stakeholders and local government Chieftains to comply with the guidelines set aside for accurate data gathering in their respective councils for the review of revenue allocation formula.
According to the Governor, the data produced by the subnational will serve as a reference document for future review by the three tiers of government.
He urged the stakeholders to come up with what will be acceptable by the commission and called on them to comply appropriately.
He assured the commission of the state’s readiness to cooperate in all aspects with their demands.
Represented by the Head of Service, Taraba state, Ms. Suzy Nathan, the Governor reiterated the commitment of the commission to fulfill their mandate as empowered by paragraph 32(b)of part 1 to the Third Schedule of the 1999 constitution (as amended) to review from time to time the revenue allocation formula and principles in operation to ensure conformity with changing realities.
“I am aware that the commission conducted a nationwide data verification exercise of collecting, collating and analysis of the data from the subnationals came to inclusiveness and therefore could not be used for implementation.
“While maintaining that it was due but not limited to inadequate information provided by the subnationals”.
Governor Ishaku reminded the committee that the state is agrarian by nature and maybe rich in national and human resources, but this potential is being tapped and transformed into manifest wealth. He revealed that the potentials were a far cry from the yearnings of citizenry.
Leader of the committee and a former Deputy Governor of Abia state Chief Chris Akomas, stated that the major component of the committees mandate was to ensure that data submitted by the subnationals were in tandem with what is actually on ground.
He reminded the stakeholders that the commission will rely on the census data available at the state population commission to verify outrageous figures.
“As a commission we will do our best to provide a level playing field where justice and fairness is served. We will work with all the relevant stakeholders in ensuring the indices collated serve as a guide to the committee during public hearings on a future date”.
He expressed satisfaction with the cooperation the state government has exhibited during their tour in the state.
Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Hon. Solomon Elisha assured the committee that all the key actors in the subnationals work assiduously to present what is consistent with present realities.
He called on council Chieftains to comply as directed by Governor Ishaku in his speech.
He wished the committee a happy deliberation as they went into a technical session.
Taraba state ALGON chairman honourably called for true and fiscal federalism as this will give the local councils a larger percentage of revenue generated, moreso as the federal and state government were part of the subnationals.
He therefore called for a holistic review of the revenue allocation formula to be favorable to the local government as they are the ones generating the revenue and paying to center who in turn use the same resources to service the state’s and other sundry services which the local councils are a part.
Request for Bids for Provision of an E-Government Procurement Suite
Kaduna State Public Procurement Authority has allocated Fund under its budget provision for the fiscal year and intends to apply part of the fund toward payments under Call-off Contracts that may be awarded under the Framework Agreement (FA) for Provision of an E-Procurement Suite (Software as a Service) concluded through this RFB Primary Procurement process.
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Apart from doomsday naysayers, no Taraba state citizen is left in doubt about the honesty and leadership of Governor Agbu Kefas. Even the opposition is in total agreement that Dr. Agbu Kefas can be trusted with the future of Taraba, especially its fiscal fortunes. The determination to usher in a new era has never been this clearer in our history.
That is why we view with some comical astonishment when a faceless writer actually penned a petition on the loans the administration of Dr Kefas recently solicited.
For the records, it is doubtful if the writer of that petition is even educated enough to comprehend the intricate process and nuances of loan collections. Why will he be petitioning the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over loans to be sourced from commercial bank? Can the apex bank block loans that commercial banks seek to give?
In any case, will any bank support request for loans not solidified with collaterals and clear cut repayment plans?
Why indeed should he even query the place of loans in developmental efforts? All experts are of the agreement that loans are alright, especially if they met the purpose for which they are collected. No one is annoyed with loans if they will raise the bar and transform communities. No one is against loans, if they will address pertinent needs and prioritize progress. Loans are actually applauded if they can be accounted for and prudently spent.
Consequently, the Kefas loans (as they are now so called) have been adjudged to be the most vibrant, translucent and laudable in the dispensation of loans. Not just because they went through the right process but also because they are clear and concise in their purpose.
Dr. Kefas is focused on delivering on all his campaign promises, loans or no. Besides, it is only an enemy of Taraba state that can question that determination and singleness of purposes so obviously already demonstrated.