Some residents of Jos, Plateau, have criticised the Plateau State
House of Assembly’s approval of a N1 billion-loan request by the
executive arm of the government for stadium project.
The residents told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Jos
that the hasty attitude of the assembly in the approval portrayed it as a
mere “rubber stamp” of the executive.
NAN reports that the house had given its nod to the government’s
request to access a loan facility from a bank for the roofing and
completion of some critical components at the ultra modern stadium in
Jos.
House Majority Leader Henry Yunkwap, however, said the loan package
was to due to the recent performance of the Plateau United Football
Club, which necessitated the need to complete the stadium.
Yunkwap said that the team had started going international, hence the
need to give the stadium a face lift to meet standard that would
attract international matches to be played on the pitch.
But Minority Leader Daniel Dem queried the loan request which he said
was not captured in 2018 budget recently passed into law by the
assembly and assented to by the governor.
Dem said that the debt profile of the state stood at over N200
billion and warned against collecting additional loan that would further
tie the state to creditors.
Mr Jacob Pwakim, a public affairs commentator, said completion of the
stadium was not the state’s priority at the moment; hence attaching a
request to it was unnecessary.
Pwakim blamed the legislators for giving the governor the permission
to access the loan without subjecting the request to intense debate at
plenary as well as taking it to the public for scrutiny.
“At the moment, I don’t think the completion of the ultra modern
stadium is our priority or the most pressing need of our people.
“And for the fact that it was not captured in the 2018 budget raises a lot of question if really this government is accountable.
“The state is already indebted to the tune of N200 billion and
collecting additional loan will only impoverish the state further and
subject it to a more serious financial burden.
“So, to my mind collecting the facility is needless,” he said.
The commentator alleged that the lawmakers succeeded in approving a
loan that would be used to finance the governors 2019 electioneering as
against the reasons alluded.
Pwakim also accused the legislators as conspirators in the
arrangements, adding that they would also be beneficiaries by the time
the loan has been accessed.
“The fact is that 2019 is around the corner, and to my mind the governor
wants this loan mainly to finance his re-election campaigns ahead of
the forthcoming general elections.
“And because our legislators are charlatans, they approved this loan
without subjecting it to a heated debate or even calling for a public
hearing as it is done in some informed democracies,” he said.
A politician, Mr John Kele, expressed dismay over the approval of the
loan request by the house and described it as “one too many”.
“I am pretty uncomfortable with the debt profile of the state because
it keep soaring and this means that soon the state will be run
basically on borrowed funds.
“I am not trying to downplay the need for us to have a befitting
stadium of international standard, but without mincing words, I know too
well that the immediate past regime in the state procured materials for
the roofing of that stadium.
“These are some of the concerns I expected the House of Assembly to
raise and be adequately convinced before approving the N1 billion-loan
request,’’ he said.