The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has asked state governments to begin to repay loans given to them to support their budget as from May.
While speaking at the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting chaired by the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja on Thursday, he said it was important for the governors to repay those loans received from commercial banks.
However, State governors are pleaded for more time to begin the repayment of their loans, especially the budget support loans.
This was made known in a statement issued at the end of the meeting by the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande.
The statement read in part, “On the Budget Support Facility, state governors restated their request to defer the repayment of the loans, which was to have started this month. Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who is also Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, reported interactions with the Finance Minister and the CBN Governor regarding the matter.
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“The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, also emphasised the importance of the timely repayment of loans, especially those owed to commercial banks, indicating the challenges inherent in a further delay in payment, including audit concerns. He said the repayment of the commercial loans should resume this month.
“In addition, the vice president stated that he will be holding a meeting with representatives of the state governors, the Finance Minister and the CBN Governor to resolve the issue raised.”
The Managing Director, Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Uche Orji, in his presentation at the meeting said Nigeria’s net assets have increased from N579.54 billion to N772.75 billion.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, spoke on the Digital Switch Over, saying it will go live first in Lagos, Kano and Rivers States.
According to him, the initiative was in line with the directive of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) that member states should switch off analogue television transmission and go digital.
