The Rivers State House of Assembly on Thursday
approved a loan of N10 billion requested by the
State Governor, Nyesom Wike.
The state governor had sent a letter to the House
of Assembly asking that he should be granted
approval to secure the loan that would be used to
fund some major projects in the state.
28 lawmakers voted in favour of the approval.
Speaker of the House, Mr. Ikuinyi Ibani, in his
remark, explained that it would be difficult for any
government to survive without funds to operate.
Ibani, who pointed that the House would not be
involved in frivolous approvals, added that the
state legislature would endorse transparent and
sincere requests that would benefit the people of
the state.
Explaining that the immediate past administration
left an empty treasury, the Speaker disclosed that
the loan would be taken from Zenith Bank and
repaid through Valued Added Tax.
He said, “He (Wike) cannot do that without cash
back. No government can run without a financial
base. We must provide succour for our people,
so that they can begin to see changes between
yesterday and today.
“This Assembly will not engage in frivolous
approval and resolutions. As an Assembly, we
have the responsibility to know what the funds
sought are meant for.”
Meanwhile, the State House of Assembly has
committed the High Court Amendment Law 2015
to an ad hoc committee to conduct a public
hearing on the matter.