Kogi Govt, APC trade words over bailout delay

The APC on Sunday alleged that the Kogi State Government had yet to apply for the bailout funds provided by the Federal Government.

But the State Government disputed the claim.
The Head of Media of the Abubakar Audu Campaign Organsation, Dr Tom Ohikere, made the allegation at a news conference in Lokoja on Sunday.

He said that Gov. Idris Wada had “tactfully refused to apply for the fund because of the backlog of loan arrears the state is already enmeshed in”.

Ohikere said that records at the CBN showed that 27 states applied for the bailout funds as at Sept. 18 , saying that the records showed that 24 of the states had so far received N222 billion as bailout funds.

According to him, the documents reveal that only Bayelsa, Borno and Cross Rivers States are yet to receive their bailout.

However, in a swift reaction, the Chief Communications Manager to Wada, Mr Phrank Shaibu, disclosed that the state actually applied for the bailout and that the bailout was eventually approved by the CBN.

“If Kogi State did not apply, how come the CBN published the name of the state and the approval of N50.8 billion?

“Kogi State is among the three states to fulfill all the requirements which include but not limited to submission of payroll of all civil servants, BVN and full list of biometric verification of workers.”

He disclosed that the state applied for N80 billion as bailout to offset salary arrears of state and Local Government workers and that the CBN approved N50.8 billion.

Shaibu said that the debt profile of the state was N872 million, explaining that the Debt Management Office could also be contacted for verification of the claim.

Shaibu described the claim of the APC as sheer ignorance, saying that the claim was confirmation that Audu and the leaders of APC were responsible for the non release of the fund.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Nigeria Labour Congress and The Trade Union Congress had directed workers in the state to stay off their offices on Nov. 2 to protest the delay in the release of the fund.