Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has waded into the dispute
between governors and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over repayment dates
for the N614 billion budget support facility extended to 35 states.
In 2017, the federal government had extended the conditional
facility to states through the CBN to help cushion the impact of dwindling
resources and help meet their various obligations.
At the expiration of the two-year grace period for
repayment, the deductions were suspended for one year to enable the states to
stabilise their finances following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the national economic council (NEC) meeting held on
Thursday, Kayode Fayemi, chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF),
insisted that his colleagues wanted the loan repayment due in May to be
deferred.
Godwin Emefiele, governor of the CBN, however, said that
states should begin the repayment this month without further delay especially
the monies owed to the banks.
Emefiele noted the importance of the timely repayment of
loans, especially those owed to commercial banks, indicating the challenges
inherent in a further delay in payment, including audit concerns.
In a statement by Laolu Akande, spokesman of the vice
president, said, “the Vice President will be holding a meeting soon with
representatives of the State Governors, the Finance Minister and the CBN
Governor to resolve the issue raised.”
During the NEC meeting, Clem Agba, minister of state, budget
and national planning, said the excess crude account (ECA) and stabilisation
account balances stood at $72,413,574.70 and N24,741,213,941.88, respectively,
as of May 18, 2021.
Also, the national resources account stood at
N23,650,579,140.23 as of May 20, 2021.
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