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Saturday, 13 September 2014

Lagos's High Debt Profile,SA To BRF On Information & Strategy, Lateef Raji Speaks

The Lagos state Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Lateet Raji who is also an house of Representative aspirant has said the loans obtained by the Lagos state is used in financing such capital projects, such as the Light rail, expansion of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway and Mile 12 – Ikorodu, among others.

While speaking to journalists at a press briefing in Lagos, the house of Rep aspirant said, Lagos state had applied for a loan in other to carry out some of the intensive projects embarked upon by the Babatunde Raji Fashola led administration was aimed at adding value to the life of the average Lagosian adding that it is the only way to finance such projects.

According to him, if the State does not borrow, it means it has to wait every month for those who want to pay rent, Land Use Charge, Tenement Rate, Drivers License or a parcel of land and other rents pointing out that no government could accomplish rapid development at that rate.

“If we wait, it is a bit-by-bit income. If you look at all our IGR, it is all secured against these assets. I can’t tell our contractor that wait, let me go and collect money from licensing office to come and give you. This is how it works because a contractor has designed a project which is going to benefit our people, it would cost Billions of Naira to do”, he said

Speaking further on the high profile debt, he said the best thing to do was go to a bank, get the money so that the contractor could be paid adding, “As the income comes in through IGR, we will use it to defray the loan and that is why the banks are lending because they see that the funds are coming in and that is how to run a government”.

He also urge those alleging that the present administration is not working to employ their consultant/experts to inspect some of the on-going projects and then make their findings public.

On the allegation that Asiawaju Bola Amed is a dictator, he discarded it by saying, if they say he's, thank God he gave us Fashola in 2007. And on Ribadu, he has the right to his choice and decision, no regret of whatsoever, the only mistake we made was not realising how desperate the PDP was in Ekiti thereby costing us and that was why we had to make some corrections in Osun and thank God for giving the APC victory

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