FG seeks AfDB loan to rebuild crisis ridden northeast

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, says the Federal Government will seek a total sum of $6.8 million to rebuild the North East from the Africa Development Bank (AfDB).

While briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday, she said the ministry had written a letter to the council seeking the approval of the loan.

The loan, according to her, would finance basic service delivery and livelihood empowerment programme in the region.

She said: “Today (yesterday), at FEC, I presented a memo seeking the approval of council for additional financing, the sum of $6.8 million sought as a loan from AfDB (AfDB) to finance inclusive basic service delivery and livelihood empowerment integrated programme for the rebuilding of the North-East.

She added that a previous facility which covered institutions in all the States in the region was affected by the insurgency in that continues to ravage the region.

“There was a previous facility which included coverage of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe states, and some specific institutions were beneficiaries.

‘’But there is a Federal Science and Technology College in Lassa, Borno State that was one of the beneficiaries. But because of insurgency, it suffered severely. It could not be carried out because of the activities of insurgents.

“Now, what we are trying to do is to go back to the projects, to this particular institution to make sure we are able to rehabilitate the institution and also undertake a complete skill, training and educational project that will mitigate against the challenges that the institution has had.

‘’The facility is a concessionary loan. It has an interest rate of one per cent and it is payable over a 30-year period and it has five years moratorium,” she added.