Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State on Saturday said that his administration had so far taken loans amounting to N30 billion to invest in the state`s economy.
The governor said this while addressing journalists and members of the public at a programme tagged “Ogbeni till Daybreak” in Osogbo, the state capital.
The programme was organised by the Ministry of Information and Strategy.
Aregbesola explained that it was only a credit worthy state that could approach banks or financial institutions to take loans.
“You cannot just walk into a bank and demand for a loan, the bank will have to consider so many things.
“The bank will ensure that the loan seeker will be able to manage and repay the loan,” he said.
According to him, government must as a matter of fact, invest in the economy so that the state will be economically viable to empower its people who will make the economy strong.
He said the state had invested huge sums of money in education with the inauguration of a computer tablet, otherwise called “Opon Imo”, meant for 150,000 Senior Secondary School students.
The governor said the state paid Evans Publishers for 56 books which were put electronically in the computer tablet for use by the students.
Aregbesola also listed the state’s financial commitment to the school feeding programme and agriculture, among others, as worthy investments.
“What is important is to invest in the policies and programmes that will enhance the welfare of the people, hence the issue is what you are doing with the loan,” he said.
Aregbesola said the two debt monitoring institutions – Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Debt Management Office (DMO) – had not expressedconcern on the state debt profile.
