On June 22, 2021, the Lagos State House of Assembly approved the request of a sum of N85 billion Special Dispensation Bond to finance capital projects in the state by the Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
This was made known to pressmen by the Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Rotimi Olowo represented Somolu 1. According to Mr. Olowo noted that the expedient approval of the huge sum was due to the circumstantial factor surrounding the Governor’s requests.
According to Mr. Olowo: “When you look at our Consolidation Debt Service Account (CDSA), we have about N22 billion and we are talking N101.2 billion in the next two or three years.
“It will amount to a lot of pressure on our debt obligation, so what we thought is necessary to quickly access the bond market with the approval of the House so that we can get it at cheaper rate and it will be for 10 years with two years’ moratorium.
“What it means is that, in the next two years after securing the bond, we will not pay any money. We will not pay the interest and the capital, it will be like tax holiday. It will relieve the state the burden of sourcing for money to pay the creditors.
“On the second aspect, if today we don’t access the commercial loan from one of the banks at a single digit rate of 9.25 per cent, we will be losing because we will still have to pay the holders of the bond between now and the next months.
“That means we will have been able to save money worth an average of N1.5 billion in form of seeking fund to be able to make up to 2023,â€.
