The Enugu State House of Assembly has secretly approved a loan request of N14.2 Billion presented to it by the Enugu State Executive Council led by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State.
Vanguard investigations showed that, N4.207 billion bail-out funds designed by the Federal Government to ease financial difficulties in payment of workers salary arrears is part of the fourteen billion.
The four billion was said to be earmarked for payment of pensions and gratituity of workers who have not received their entitlement in the past 14 years while ten will be deployed to infrastructural development.
The bulk of those who were being owed their retirement benefits are teachers as well as civil servants in the various parastatals, agencies and departments.
The state EXCO had nocturnally met and approved to pass the loan request to the House on Monday night.
It would be recalled that the immediate past administration of ex-governor Sullivan Chime was alleged to have plunged the state debt profile, both domestic and external to an all time high of N62.8 billion.
Further investigations revealed that the House approval, shrouded in secrecy, was meant to douse public outcry that may trail the loan request when juxtaposed against the suffocating debt profile hanging on the states’ neck.
Reports indicated last week that the state was among five additional states that have received bail-out from CBN.
A dependable source had told Vanguard that, “the government is not owing worker’s salaries. The bail-out accruable to Enugu State is meant for the payment of pension arrears and salaries due to casual workers.”
Vanguard
