Akwa Ibom seeks N80bn to pay bank loan

 

The Commissioner of Finance, Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Bassey Akpan, has said the state government is seeking an N80bn loan from the Standard Charter Bank of London to offset the previously acquired credit facility of N50bn from the United Bank for Africa Plc.
Akpan, who stated this in Uyo on Saturday during a press conference, explained that the state government had already consulted the state House of Assembly on the need to write off the UBA loan facility which attracts 18.5 per cent per annum.
Akpan said, “When we got the UBA facility, we were also working with an international financial institution. The essence of this loan is to enable us bring down the cost of governance for the people. We have to do this based on the interest that has been shown by the international financial community based on the performance of the governor.
“The UBA facility was meant to be a start up to augment our finance. Borrowing from a local market is easier than borrowing from the international market.
“But we were also conscious of the fact that the UBA facility was a double digit facility. We borrowed at 18.5 per cent interest rate per annum while at the same time we were working with the international financial community to work out a modality where we would also borrow at a less than nine per cent.
“So, the UBA facility was just a bridge to support the state as at the time it came, because we were conscious that once we finalised arrangement Standard Charter Bank, we would use it to upset the UBA loan facility.”
He said the state House of Assembly had approved the N50bn loan from UBA, adding that the loan with its interest rate of 18.5 per cent per annum was part of the budget.