There were strong indications, weekend, that Enugu State Government and the State House of Assembly were heading for a showdown over alleged refusal of the house to give a retroactive approval to a N7 billion loan allegedly obtained illegally by Governor Sullivan Chime from commercial banks.
This is different from the N11 billion loan the House approved for the Chime-led administration last Thursday, during its secret meeting.
Vanguard gathered that the House was uncomfortable with the idea of approving N18 billion loan for an outgoing administration.
This is different from the N11 billion loan the House approved for the Chime-led administration last Thursday, during its secret meeting.
Vanguard gathered that the House was uncomfortable with the idea of approving N18 billion loan for an outgoing administration.
The refusal of the House to approve the said N7billlion loan is already causing tension even as All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state has described the approval of the N11billlion loan as outrageous.
APC State Publicity Secretary, Kate Ofor, while condemning the process of the loan, wondered why the State Assembly that was on recess, till December 4; hurriedly went into secret sitting at the hallowed chambers after barring the press from the arena.
According to APC, “It is our candid view that the loan is meant to rig the 2015 general elections, and alleged retirement benefit for Governor Chime. The budget proposal at our disposal has it that N500million is earmarked for disbursement to each local government few weeks before the elections. This amounts to N8.5billion in what they tagged election materials and N2.5 billion for sundries. We stand to be contradicted with factual evidence’.
“All facts available indicate that the loan is a fraud. We therefore call on the Central Bank of Nigeria and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to stop the government from accessing the loan facility.
“The loan is unacceptable and sheer wickedness by a government that has little regard for civil servants and general welfare of the indigenes.
“Accordingly, we challenge Governor Chime to open the account books of Enugu State and absolve himself of the unbridled corruption under his watch. For we know that the work he has done is not commensurate to the huge federal allocations accruing to our state and local government councils in the past seven years.
“On this, we challenge the issuing banks to halt the fraudulent loan transaction. It beats our imagination that Governor Chime, a senior counsel, who is at the twilight of his administration, should deviate from due process and rule of law, by requesting for N11 billion loan, in less than transparent manner.”
Recall that the House members had during a secret meeting held at the hallowed chambers last Thursday, approved N11 billion loan requested by the governor, to enable his administration complete ongoing projects and also offset previous loan facility obtained from a new generation bank, which interest rate was jerked up astronomically.
The House had in sitting passed a resolution that “this honorable House do resolve to authorize the state government to obtain loans of one billion naira and ten billion naira respectively from UBA Plc to re-finance facility from GTB and fund infrastructural projects in the state.