By Andrew Ikehi
The Delta State House of Assembly, Tuesday approved two separate requests from the State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa for credit facilities from separate financial institutions.
The Governor’s requests were contained in two separate letters he sent to the Lawmakers which were read on the floor of the House by the Speaker of the State Legislature, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori.
In one of the letters, the Governor is seeking the approval of N600 million from the state House of Assembly for counterpart funding from First Bank of Nigeria to fund the implementation of the 2020 Sustainable Development Goals Conditional Grants Scheme (SDGs-CGS).
Governor Okowa in the letter, said that the state was in the forefront in the implementation of SDGs in Nigeria with immense benefits accruing to it, especially in the health sector.
According to him, the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic has necessitated the need for improvements in the water and sanitation sector.
He explained that the SDGs-CGS counterpart funds is an obligation towards the Federal Governnent and state partnership arrangement as committed towards achieving the 2030 agenda of SDGs on a yearly basis and in the year 2020 cycle.
”As it relates to Delta, the programme is geared towards the timely provision of water and sanitation facilities in primary healthcare centres meant to strengthen and enhance indigenous capacity in developing our healthcare infrastructure.
”Based on the workplan/schedule of the intervention in selected healthcare centres across the three senatorial districts of the state, the sum of N600 million is required as counterpart funds to enable the state participate in the 2020 project cycle.
”Sequel to the foregoing, the State Executive Council at it’s 12th meeting held on Nov. 16, approved that the counterpart funding finance of N600 million be obtained by the state government from First Bank of Nigeria.
”The purpose of this letter is to seek the authorization of the state House of Assembly for the state to accept the loan facility from First Bank of Nigeria and to issue an appropriate Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) for the repayment of the loan facility,” he said.
In the second letter which was also read at Tuesday’s plenary by the Speaker of the State Legislature, Governor Okowa requested from the state Assembly for the approval of N657.2 million for the payment of interest during the moratorium for the state to participate in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) oil palm development initiative programme.
The governor said that the programme is geared towards revolutionizing the agricultural sector for food security, job creation, increased wealth and economic growth of the state.
Governor Okowa also said that the programme would be implemented through the state Commercial Oil Palm Plantation Growers Cooperative Society.
He added that 17,345.5 hectares of land, representing 50 per cent of the proposed 34,691 hectares is to be cultivated as palm oil plantation with cassava as intercrop, under phase one of the project for a period of three years.
”To actualise this project, a cumulative facility of N24.9 billion as cumulative interest payable for the first 12 months.
”Going by the arrangements, a commercial bank would be required to lend the aforementioned cumulative interest payable to the cooperative society.
”The purpose of this letter is to seek the authorization of the Assembly to accept the loan facility from First City Monument Bank (FCMB) or any other commercial bank willing to accede to the terms and conditions to issue ISPO accordingly,” he said.
Motion for the approval of both requests by the State Governor was moved by the Majority Leader of the Assembly, Hon. Ferguson Onwo.
The motion which was unanimously adopted by the lawmakers when put to a voice vote by the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, was seconded by Hon. Emmanuel Sinebi, the member representing Patani constituency in the state Assembly.
