The recent spate of allegations against the immediate past Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, by the Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole may not be unconnected to the refusal by the former to grant loan requests by the governor to pursue financial obligations, which the then minister considered inimical to the interest of Edo State, it has been revealed.


Documents unearthed by THISDAY from sources in the Debt Management Office (DMO) showed that the Edo State governor had in a letter dated December 9, 2014 requested a “No Objection” for facilities totalling N15.37 billion, which were turned down by DMO and the minister.


A breakdown of the loans showed that the Edo State Government asked for a "No Objection" for a N13.2 billion term loan from Ecobank Plc to enable the state government meet its payment obligations to contractors; a N1.03 billion term loan from Fidelity Bank Plc to meet the Edo government’s State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB) 50 per cent counterpart funding obligations; and yet another N1.14 billion term loan from Ecobank Plc to meet the state’s 50 per cent counterpart funding obligations to SUBEB.


However, investigations revealed that all the loan requests were turned down by the Ministry of Finance under Okonjo-Iweala following the assessment and guidance provided by DMO, which observed that the loans would be inappropriate and ran contrary to the existing guidelines.


The former minister felt strongly that approving the requests could put Edo State in a very difficult position.
The first reason for her decision to decline the request, according to a source in DMO, was that it was wrong for the state government to obtain a commercial loan and repay same via a World Bank disbursement, which Edo State was expecting.


She had through the DMO communicated her reservations that using a concessional World Bank facility with a 25-year tenor and a five-year grace period at 1.25 per interest rate to pay for a commercial bank loan of 23 months tenor and 18 per cent interest rate was not only irregular but was not economically sustainable.


“In fact, World Bank rules abhor the use of the institution’s facilities to offset commercial loans,” the DMO had said in another letter in response to the Edo State Government.


However, Okonjo-Iweala, investigations further revealed, did not just reject the loan applications but actually offered some other solutions, including borrowing a smaller amount through a N5 billion bond with a lower interest rate than a bank loan. But Oshiomhole rejected this option.


THISDAY learnt that Edo State was not the only state whose loan applications were not approved by the former minister. Several other states also had their applications rejected based on the results of the Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) carried out by the DMO.
In some cases, the applications were not in line with extant rules and procedures.


Sources told THISDAY that Oshiomhole’s sudden repeated attacks against Okonjo-Iweala were indicative of the fact that he took the minister’s rejection of the application very personally, as he desperately needed the funds before the 2015 elections.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/-refusal-to-approve-n15-37bn-loans-behind-oshiomhole-s-tirade-against-okonjo-iweala-/214648/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

LALASTICLALA ISHILOVE

It obvious okonjo is amongsy d few people in d world that eay material tins




Lyk money. Seee her cheek lyk a thief's own..




Ties her scatf lyk she hides money in there

Breeze don blow fowl yansh don expose.

I talk am

osho osho

I see,

No smoke without fire....


Oshi-hole-mole you are pained?

LOL, nobi only expose, na exPLODE...

doublewisdom:
Breeze don blow fowl yansh don expose.

.

No wonder Osho just dey run mouth like tap water! Thank God the loan was not approved! That would plugged the state into a debt ridden state.

Story,.... was she culpable or not? It is a known fact that if you fight corrupt, corrupt will fight back. That exactly this article is meant to achieve....na today?

baba osho, the local witch hunter.