*Details of Debt Relief Program kicks off in few weeks
FILE PHOTO: President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof Yemi Osinbajo and the 36 governors
The implementation of a three-pronged financial intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari to assuage workers plight and support the states is now in progress.
Specifically, state governments will start benefiting from the special intervention fund of between N250B to N300B in a matter of weeks.
Currently, meetings are being held between members of the Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC and CBN, on the one hand, and also between CBN and commercial banks on the other hand, regarding details of the special intervention fund and the debt relief program of the President for the states, a statement by Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President, (Media and Publicity) said.
“Such meetings are reviewing loan profiles of the states, issues around restructuring of existing loans including time span, and reconciling the figures.”
Already, it has been agreed that existing state loans be restructured for 20 years, and regarding the bond option, the rates to be applied would be market-based but with a cap to make it affordable. Within weeks from now, the states are expected to start benefiting from this two other parts of the presidential intervention.
It would be recalled that the details of the presidential intervention are in three parts:
The sharing of about $2.1bn in fresh allocation between the states and the federal government. The money was sourced from recent LNG proceeds to the federation account, and its release okayed by the president.
A Central Bank-packaged special intervention fund to the tune of about N250bn to N300bn that will offer financing to the states. This would be a soft loan available to states.
A debt relief program by the Central Bank of Nigeria and Debt Management Office, DMO, which will help states convert their commercial …Read More
Source:: PM Newspaper
