Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has explained the essence of a N50 billion bond the State Government recently obtained from the capital market, claiming that the bond would be used to fund infrastructural development.
This was disclosed by the State’s Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo, who said that the N50 billion bond was obtained to enable the government to pay contractors handling its various capital projects, especially road contractors.
[READ MORE: Ondo State Government boosts SMEs with N166 million disbursement]
The Details: While providing further clarifications, the commissioner stated that none of the monies would be disbursed into the purse of the state government but would be spent on the ongoing projects.
The commissioner also explained that the state, would spend such huge fund on legacy projects that would impact positively on the lives of the citizenry.
“The governor didn’t take loan or bond to win his election in 2016. The people freely gave him their mandate, so he can’t take a loan to do any reelection. Disregard opposition, the opposition will always talk, it is part of their job to talk.
“We all know that the money would not be paid into the government’s purse but it will be used to fund all these ongoing and new capital projects directly.” Ojogo stated.
Why this matters: prior to the reactions by the state governor, there have been allegations that the State Government plans to use the money for re-election bids.
Meanwhile, the Ondo State Government has dismissed such claims, stating that the bond issued is important for completing road projects that have been abandoned.
The bond is coming after a drastic reduction in the revenue that accrues to all state.
While more questions are being raised, the state government has promised that contractors would soon return to sites of road projects that are currently undergoing delays, adding that with the approval of the bond, the ongoing projects would be completed in record time.
[ALSO READ: Investors to access N300 billion as FG set to privatise power companies]