Governor Martin Elechi of Ebonyi State on Tuesday said the state government would in June commence the repayment of the N15 billion bonds it obtained from the capital market.
Elechi made the disclosure at a news conference in Abakaliki organised as part of the activities to mark the 2014 Democracy Day celebration in the state.
He said the bond would be repaid within seven years and that the repayment period would make it convenient for his administration and its successor to save enough funds for governance of the state.
He disclosed that the value of the bond facility approved for the state was less than what it applied for.
Elechi, however, added: “We still got the highest amount among other state governments which also applied for the facility.
He said the bond was approved in spite of opposition and petitions against it.
He said it “was still approved due to the prudent way we managed the earlier one we got”.
The governor said that he had met contractors executing various projects in the state and had promised to effectively fund them to enable them to complete all ongoing projects.
“The international market project, for instance, is remaining the reclamation of its 49-hectre land in a swampy area, and we are about to re-award the contract of one of the slots due to the contractor’s poor performance,” he said.
He decried the recent collapse of the Centenary Tower built by the government at the cost of N60 million.
Elechi said that the government was unhappy because it was a loss of the huge sum used in executing it.
He said: “The project was supposed to have been completed this week for the democracy celebrations, so anybody saying that we are not mindful of the development is lying.
“We have immediately commenced investigations into the incident by inviting the contractor, engineers and members of the state centenary committee for explanations.
“The contractor and engineers are to submit their reports in writing after which we will consult the Nigerian Society of Engineers for clarification to determine further actions,” he said.
On the refusal of Abakaliki Rice Mill Company to relocate to the new site assigned by the government, Elechi said he would ensure the relocation was effected by the end of his tenure in 2015.
“We are expecting the rice parboiling machines we ordered from China to arrive in the state in early September, and if it is not used in the current harvesting season, it will be used in the next,” he said.
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