President Muhammadu Buhari has given approval for the payment of the last tranche of Paris Club refunds to states.
Fielding questions from reporters after the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday, Minister of Finance Zainab Ahmed said the approval, however, came with some conditions which include that the benefiting states must show proof that they used the previous refunds for payment of salaries.
Council has also approved the issuance of $2.9 billion and other securities in Eurobonds from the international capital market.
The focus of the approval according to the Minister of Finance Zainab Ahmed is to enable the Federal Government to implement the external borrowing of plan of $2.786 billion and fund capital projects in the 2018 Appropriation Act.
The Finance minister told reporters after the cabinet meeting on Wednesday that her ministry also got approval to raise the sum of $82.54 million to bridge the shortfall of the 500million Eurobond that matured on July 12, 2018.
Council also on Wednesday approved the livelihood of the family improvement project in the Niger Delta.
The project according to the Finance Minister will see the disbursement of the sum of $60 million in the form of loans and grants to encourage youths in the region to engage in rural farming.
States to benefit from the programme are Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers.
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