Kwara state government has disclosed plans to issue N23 billion bond to finance infrastructural projects across the state.

Also, the state government said it has concluded arrangement to sell its legislative quarters to all the 24 members of Kwara House of Assembly in line with the monetisation policy of the government.

The state Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Alhaji Demola Banu said this in Ilorin yesterday after the state Executive Council Meeting.
According to him, "the bond will cover developmental projects on roads, health, electricity, sports and agriculture so as to bring more dividends of democracy to the citizenry."

He said that, "the decision of the state government to go into obtaining N23 billion bond from the capital market was due to the low revenue that have been coming from the federation account."

Continuing, he said: "Though, the little allocation that had been coming to the government purse have been well utilised but in order to fulfill more delivery of dividends of democracy to the rural populace, the government has to go to capital market to obtain the N23billion bond so as to finance all the above developmental projects in some sectors of the state's economy."

Banu added that the bond would be paid back in the next seven years. Commenting on the N17 billion bond the government got in 2009, he explained that government would complete the full repayment by the first week of August this year.

On the selling of legislative quarters, the state Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Bode Olayemi said that: "the government at the Council meeting approved the sale of the state legislative quarters to the serving members of the state House of Assembly."

Olayemi, who said that the decision was in line with monetisation policy of government said cost of the 31 buildings at the quarters would soon be worked out by appropriate authority.

He said the building would be offered for sale to the legislators with the expectation that the lawmakers complete the payment of the cost before end of the tenure of the present administration.

The commissioner disclosed that in the event that the lawmakers could not make the purchase the houses would be offered for sale to any other interested members of the public.