The Senator representing Ondo North Senatorial
District of the National Assembly, Professor Ajayi Boroffice warned the
financial institution, Zenith Bank PLC, against granting the loan of N7 billion
to the embattled government of Governor Olusegun Mimiko.
Mr. Boroffice made the warning in a statement issued
and obtained by SaharaReporters in Akure, the Ondo State capital. The Ondo State Senator questioned the
rationale behind the approval of the loan by the “rubber stamp members” of the
State House of Assembly.
He also questioned the judgement of the management
of Zenith Bank PLC, and suggested that Zenith Bank follows in the footsteps of
Access Bank PLC by rejecting the loan due to the high degree of risk attached
to it.
Senator Boroffice warned that if Zenith Bank decided
to provide the “dubious loan” this action will, "undoubtedly confirm the
widely held opinion in Ondo State that the bank has successfully been co-opted
into the grand conspiracy to defraud the people of Ondo State."
The senator also noted that the loan is unpopular
amongst the public, because the people of Ondo State were not consulted prior
to the unilateral decision by lawmakers to approve the loan. Mr. Boroffice, himself a member of the All
Progressives Congress (APC), accused the State House of Assembly of, “trading
the collective interests of our people on the altar of party loyalty to the
retrogressive Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the government it runs in Ondo
State".
Mr. Boroffice also expressed concern with the
“continuous borrowing” of Governor Mimiko’s administration. He questioned how the funds from previous
loans had been spent, given the few infrastructure projects completed in Ondo
State over the past 7 years. He then
launched into an attack upon Governor Mimiko’s financial administration of the
State, specifically he noted the government’s inability to pay State workers’
salaries despite a N14 billion bailout by the Federal Government.
He continued noting that, "Ondo State is presently
faced with grevious financial challenges like the cash-flow insolvency, a poor
internally generated revenue, a low state sustainability index, a huge debt
burden of over N77 billion, and a failure to meet basic financial
obligations.”
The Senator concluded by inquiring how the massive
loan would be paid back should the plan of repayment continue after Governor
Mimiko’s tenure ends. He warned that if
the plan of repayment exceeded the current governor’s term, an APC-led
government in Ondo State would not be obligated to pay back the bank in full.
Read more news at the source:Saharareporters.com
