Delta State House of Assembly has ratified a short term Certificate Discount facility valued at N1.2 billion in favour of CCC Construction Nigeria limited and Setraco Nigeria limited, two major contractors working for the state government.
Speaker of the House, Sheriff Oborevwori explained in a letter to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa that the facility is in the sum of N1.5 billion each is to be repaid in six months through the issuance of an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order from the state government’s FAAC account in Zenith Bank Plc.
He said that the speedy ratification of the request reaffirmed the legislature commitment to ensuring speedy and unhindered execution of people’s oriented projects embarked upon by the state government.
Defending the ratification, Oborevwori said it clearly showed that Okowa has respect for the rule of law; adding that the fiscal responsibility law of the state stipulates that such approval must be ratified by the state’s Assembly.
He said: “The governor has presented the request and the House speedily attended to it in line with our resolve to continue to synergize with him to promote good governance and development in the state.
“A genuine request needs not to be delayed by the house. And if you listen to the arguments of members during the debate on the merits of the request, you can see that the support was overwhelming and unanimous’, he added.
In the letter which was read on the floor of the House, the speaker disclosed that the State Executive Council in its 5th meeting of 2018 ratified the approval, including the terms and conditions of the transaction.
He noted: “Against this background and procedurally, the concurrence and ratification of the State House of Assembly is expected to be sought and obtained to conclude the transaction.
“The Speaker and Members are invited to note that constrained by the state debt burden, it became imperative to bring its outstanding commitments within sustainable limits as enshrined in the fiscal sustainability plan to which the Delta state government has Assented.
“In that direction, the state government plans to start defraying the negotiated outstanding commitments of 11,742,080,116.01 and 8,091,128,623.78 to Messrs CCC Construction Nigeria Limited and Setraco Nigeria Limited respectively in view of the fact that the outstanding commitments to these contractors represent a considerably large portion of the state’s overall debt to contractors,” Okowa stated.
