FEC Approves $200Mil Foreign Loan To Stem Flood In Ibadan

…okays N22bn for road projects in Niger Delta

The Federal Executive Council, FEC, yesterday approved credit facility of $200m to arrest frequent flooding within Ibadan city.

Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Bashir Yuguda disclosed that Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State witnessed floods in 1980 and 2011, which led to loss of lives and property.

Yuguda said some remedial works were carried out to avert future occurrence, stressing that with the credit facility of $200m, the government would be able to manage the frequent flooding in the city.

“It is important to know that when the Eleyele Dam became unsafe, there was a lot of problems that happened in Ibadan: drainage system was bad, solid waste management was threatened, the land use planning and flood control assess management was also threatened.

“We believe with this credit facility coming, the Federal Government will be able to address the situation”, Yuguda said.

The minister also disclosed that FEC approved credit facility of $495m International Development Association,IDA for the proposed irrigation management in the country.

The facility has five years moratorium with repayment plan spanning 20 years and a service charge of 0.75 per cent and interest rate of 1.25 per cent per annum with commitment fee of 0.5 per cent per annum.

He stated that the facility would upscale the efforts of the Federal Government in improving the irrigation system in the country. Yuguda noted that part of the fund under the IDA credit would ensure cultivation of the irrigable land in the country, stressing that the country presently has an estimated 2.2mhectares of potentially irrigable land, out of which about one million hectares is located in the north.

According to him, the beneficiaries of the loan, which would be managed by the Ministry of Water Resources, would be in four components.

Yuguda said $81m would be spent on Water Resource Management and Dam Operation Improvement, $294m on Irrigation Development and Management, $38m would go to enhancing the agriculture productivity and support the value chain development.

He added that Governance and institutional framework would cost $30m while the contingency under the programme would be about $52m.

According to him, the Bakolori Dam and Irrigation Scheme in Zamfara State would benefit from the project. FEC, according to the minister approved $250m for the proposed national urban water sector to address the urban water sector project in which Rivers, Enugu and Ekiti states would benefit, stressing that it would be implemented over a period of six years.

Also speaking at the briefing, the Minister of Niger Delta, Steve Oru, said Council approved N22bn for road projects in the Niger Delta. Oru disclosed that N6.178bn was approved for the construction of Mbaise Ring Road intersecting and Owerri-Umuhaia Road in Imo State, which was awarded to Messrs Arab Contractors with a completion period of 18 months .

The minister also disclosed that N9.067bn was approved for the construction of Calabar-Oban-Nsan- Okoroba-Ajassor Road in Cross River State. The road project was awarded to Messrs CCECC Nigeria Limited with a completion period of 24 months.

Source: nationalmirroronline