Ogun State governor Senator Ibikunle Amosun
The Ogun State governor, Senator Ibukunle Amosun has announced plan to begin initial discussions for possible bond issuance that would correct the current funds mismatch where short-term borrowing is being used for long-term projects in the state.
The Governor made this known when he led a delegation from his administration to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in Lagos. Addressing the participants, Amosu noted that government in the past six years have committed huge spending aimed at improving the infrastructural fundamentals of the state.
According to him, the initiative would determine how much the state could borrow from the market, at what rate and how it would be receive by prospective investors. He noted that the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR), which was just N700 million monthly when he assumed office in his first term (2011-2015), among other determinants of the bond size, which is also dependent on ability to repay.
“The main focus of his administration is mainly on infrastructural development to enable the state become the nation’s investment hub in a near future. I came here to see the opportunities that abound (in the Nigerian capital market) and I know that there is always opportunities in the capital market but you don’t jump into it, you need to prepare yourself”.
He said his government has successfully raised the states’ IGR tenfold to N7billion, by partnering with many companies operating within the state’s industrial hubs and through up scaling security.
