6th September, 2012
Ogun State government has disclosed plans to set aside 15 percent of its internally generated revenue as a sinking fund.
The government also maintained that there is no plan to obtain any form of bond as being speculated by some people.
The state Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who addressed newsmen in Abeokuta on the issue, said the proposed sinking fund will be used to take care of capital projects.
She explained that a bill for the 15 percent deduction is before the State House of Assembly for consideration and subsequent passage.
Adeosun who was flanked by her Information and Strategy Commissioner, Alhaji Yusuph Olaniyonu said contrary to the rumour going round that a bond of N100 billion had been accessed by the government, the state government is not ready to access any bond now because the processes are very cumbersome.
According to her, “the 2012 budget has made provision for N40 billion loan for its development projects, but in spite of that, only N15 billion has been accessed so far, as such there is no basis to go for any bond for now.”
She pointed out that the bill before the House is meant to further give legal backing to bond, promissory notes and treasury notes in order to give contractors the confidence that their self financed projects will be paid.
On the debt profile of the state, the Commissioner disclosed that about N20b has been paid from the N87b incurred by the previous administration, leaving about N60b to be paid.
“We are now in the month of September, there is no bond.We are re-engineering. We are not saying we are not going to borrow. We have taken loans. We have borrowed only N15 billion out of the N40 billion approved by the House,” she disclosed.
By Abiodun Onafuye/Abeokuta