“A breakdown of the approved loans are $70 million from African Development Bank (ADB) for Ebonyi Ring Road Project (to be co-financed by Islamic Development Bank), $200 million ADB facility for Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP) in Abia State, and $200 million IDB loan for Kano State Integrated Agricultural and Water Resources Development.
It also approved a $100 million request for Enugu and Kano from the French Development Agency for the third National Urban Water Sector Reform (NUWSRP-III).”
http://www.businessdayonline.com/senate-approves-1-8bn-borrowing-plan-fg-750m-states/
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1. This puts to rest the malicious allegation by the usual crowd that Abia applied for Islamic Bank loan. We had no business with Islamic bank loan.
2. It confirms the public statement by Finance Commissioner, Obinna Oriaku, that we actually asked for $200m as against the mis-reported $100m. He was at the National Assembly to defend the facility at the committee level.
3. This facility has been long in coming and we owe loads of gratitude to Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who initiated the process with then Governor TA Orji leading. The initial documents related to this facility were actually endorsed by Ochendo’s administration but the facility was not realized before he went to the Senate. Yet he defended the facility vigorously at the Senate Committee with support from the members of the Abia caucus of the Senate, led by Senator Enyi Abaribe, to ensure final approval.
4. This is a low interest rate facility (0.75% p.a) that will be fully devoted to road construction, sanitation and erosion control.
5. The state government will not manage the funds directly but rather ADB will award and pay the contractors that will implement the identified projects. The major role for the state government will be to monitor the implementation, through an agency called Abia Integrated Development Agency, to ensure that outcome aligns with what our people want.
In essence, not even $1 will get into the state’s account.
6. The projects are spread across the 3 geopolitical zones of the state and extends to rural Abia.
Every Abian will likely benefit through a job that will be executed near his place of abode or home town. Those in Abia north will witness massive erosion control works including the Abiriba erosion site along Umuahia-Ohafia federal highway. Isuikwuato erosion sites are included with many others too.
The facility should also support full reconstruction of Aba-Owerri road Aba, Faulks road Aba, PH road Aba and Ikot Ekpene road Aba, Aba road Umuahia, among others. You can expect that whatever the govt already paid in lieu of those target roads might be refunded and ploughed back to other areas of need.
Umuahia, Aba, Isuikwuato, Ohafia and Bende will take a good portion of the sanitation component. A new waste management system is coming.
In summary, $120m will be used for roads, $50m will be used for sanitation projects, $18m will be for erosion control and $2m for others.
7. All the contracts will be awarded through international competitive bidding supervised by ADB. If you are a registered ADB contractor prepare to bid. The state government will not award any of the contracts.
Now you can prepare for phase 2 of the Okezie Caterpillar Revolution.
It will be HUGE!
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu is leading the most transparent administration in Nigeria today and nothing will ever be hidden from the citizens that elected him to serve them.
Match this level of transparency in leadership, if you can.
Oru ndi asiri agwula na Abia.
JOK
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