Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa on Monday said that the N120 billion recently approved by the State House of Assembly was not a fresh loan.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) had accused Governor Okowa of seeking clearance from the state Assembly to borrow another loan, putting the state in debt.
Okowa refuted the claim on Monday through the State Commissioner for Finance, Mr Fidelis Tilije.
“We are beginning to witness misconceptions over the N120 billion loan, particularly from the APC,” Tilije stated.
“The APC is painting a lie as if it is the truth and fueling misconception over the loan. Let us state it clearly, it is not a fresh loan, it is the same N100 billion that we sought before.
“We sought for N150 billion discounting facility, later brought down to N100 billion. Remember we sent the approval to the House of Assembly but the agent (bank) was not fast to grant access.
“So, we went back to the Assembly for a change of agent. It is not a new bridging finance or discounting facility, it is only a change of bank that we did. Because we wanted transparency, we went back to the House.
“We went back to the House because we are changing the agent. The APC should stop its misconception.”