The Plateau chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has slammed Governor Caleb Mutfwang’s request for a N15 billion loan, which he presented to the State House of Assembly for approval.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that during the first sitting of the 10th Assembly on Thursday, Speaker Moses Sule read out Mutfwang’s communication, in which the governor explained that the loan would be utilised to settle the backlog of civil servants’ salary arrears and provide necessary agricultural inputs for farmers.
The lawmakers approved the loan during the plenary session.
However, in reaction, the APC, through its spokesperson, Mr. Sylvanus Namang, issued a statement criticising the governor’s actions, stating that he did not follow the appropriate procedures.
Namang emphasised that the majority held by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the Plateau State House of Assembly should not be seen as a license for recklessness and arbitrary decisions. He warned that if unchecked, Plateau would face even more turbulent times in the future.
The APC spokesperson argued that the reasons given for acquiring the loan were unconvincing and untenable. He pointed out that the previous administration had made adequate budgetary provisions for salary payments and essential agricultural supplies, considering Plateau’s predominantly agrarian nature.
“This bogus N15 billion loan approval is particularly more worrisome because for a loan to be collected, certain steps are clearly spelt out in the Plateau State Debt Management Law.
“The steps must be duly and deligently followed before any financial institution, local or foreign can consider.
“First, the State Debt Management Advisory Committee must sit to discuss the purpose and necessity of the loan for the state.
“Furthermore, Plateau cannot operate as if we are under a military junta where things are done by fiat.
“For a serious issue as loan acquisition of this magnitude, the State Executive Council must approve such loan before forwarding to the House of Assembly for deliberation,” he pointed out.
He further noted that these approvals by the State Executive Council and the House of Assembly should be forwarded to the Ministry of Finance and the Debt Management Department for further processing.
Namang added that the State Executive Council did not exist, as according to him, there were only the governor, his deputy, and the attorney general. He also mentioned that the debt advisory committee had not been constituted.
