The Senate also approved a $750 million Islamic Bank loan request by some states. These are: Enugu, Ebonyi, Kano, and Ondo states.

Ebonyi’s  $80 million loan request was earlier rejected but following strident pleadings by Senator Obinna Ogba (Ebonyi Central) the upper chamber made a U-turn to approve the request.

The Senate also approved the $750 million medium term external loan requests for six states, out of the Federal Government’s request of $1.49billion for 10 states.

The states whose loan requests were approved are Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu, Kano, Ondo and Plateau.

The committee said there was a need for phased approval of the loan requests for the other states which are: Ogun, Jigawa, Kaduna and Katsina.

A breakdown of the approved loans are $70 million from African Development Bank (ADB) for Ebonyi Ring Road Project (to be co-financed by Islamic Development Bank), $200 million ADB facility for Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP) in Abia State, and $200 million IDB loan for Kano State Integrated Agricultural and Water Resources Development.

It also approved a $100 million request for Enugu and Kano from the French Development Agency for the third National Urban Water Sector Reform (NUWSRP-III).

“That the remaining four states in the borrowing plan be deferred,” the report read.

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Senate approves Plateau and other states’ loan request from low interest Islamic bank