By Daud Olatunji

ABEOKUTA-Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has ‎pledged to shorten the repayment period of the bailout funds approved for the state by the Federal Government.

Amosun who also promise not to leave debt for his successor, declared that ‎he would save about N80billion for the state with the option taken by his government.

The governor who spoke in Abeokuta when he‎ met workers under the aegis of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC). The workers ‎had, last Thursday, staged a rally for good governance in Nigeria, said rather than the 20 years debt restructuring approved for states, his government has set machinery in motion to repay the bailout funds within 10 years.

The Federal Government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in July has approved a restructuring of existing bank loans owed by state governments from a short term repayment period of about seven years to 20 years as part of the bailout ‎for financially ailing states.

Bank loans acquired for salary arrears, according to the apex bank, will also be extended to a minimum of 15 and not more than 20 years.

He disclosed that the state’s bank debt currently stands at N55billion.

The governor assured workers in the state that salaries and outstanding deductions would be paid as soon as the bailout funds are accessed by the state government.

He charged them to work hard towards increasing the revenue base of the state, stressing that if the state could hit N250million monthly internally‎ generated revenue, it would no longer have difficulty in paying wages.

He said, “The bailout they are talking and the money that they said they’ve restructured, if we are going to pay it for 20 years, you know how much we will pay back? We will pay about N160billion back in 20 years time.

“All that we have collected now is the N9.7billion for the state and the N9.1billion for the local governments. Now the N55billion that we are hearing, the loan that I collected (from banks) since I became the governor is about N39billion. The outstanding that we paid from my predecessor is about N16billion. When you add the two together, it’s the N55billion.

“And for us in Ogun State, I have said I don’t want to subject Ogun State to that debt for that 20 years; so we said they should reduce it to 10 years. The savings we are going to make for Ogun State is N80billion for opting for 10 years.

“Even I pray to God that between now and when I would leave, we would have probably settled the debt so that people coming after us, they will come and meet a clean state. So, when people hear this bailout, it means that those states, for the next 20 years, it is the debt that they would be paying.

“Yes, we may have this temporary discomfort, but within the few months, if everybody works together, we’ll make our money. If Ogun State everyday makes about N250million, we are okay. That is the target.”

Amosun said his administration was the first to introduc‎e Treasury Single Account (TSA) in 2011, adding that he closed over 200 government accounts in various banks as a result.

He commended the commitment of civil servants and other workers in the state and solicited their unflinching cooperation with his administration.