Gov Ortom pledges judicious application of  N18.5bn loan

By Jimin Geoffrey

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has pledged that the N18.5 billion naira loan approved for states by the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN will be judiciously applied.

The Federal Government recently approved a loan facility of N18.5 billion to be disbursed to states with a moratorium of two years and repayment period of 30 years.

Governor Ortom who interacted with journalists Friday, November 19th, 2021 on his return from Abuja, acknowledged economic challenges faced by states of the federation including the Federal Government which has led to borrowing of trillions of naira.

He disclosed that the State Executive Council would meet to deliberate to take appropriate decisions on application of the loan, expressing the hope that the money will add value to the development of the state.

Governor Ortom said Benue is running a deficit budget, pointing out that his administration is also paying loans taken by previous administrations in the state and previous military administrations in the state.

While responding to further questions from journalists, Governor Ortom said though he is opposed to direct primaries because it is more expensive to conduct, he is law-abiding and will abide by it if assented to by the President.

Governor Ortom who also threw light on the garnishee orders against the state government said efforts are being made to resolve all issues concerning the garnishee orders from the Federal High Court Abuja and the FCT Court.