Date: 2016-09-27

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, on Monday, disclosed that his administration will, in the next few months, inject over N5.8billion into Kwara State's economy through the state's Infrastructure Development Fund (IF-K). The governor said this during the official launching of IF-K at the Government House, Ilorin where the stakeholders, which include partner banks, contractors, engineers, consultants, were present.

Ahmed explained that IF-K was designed to pool resources for the execution of all the projects in the state,saying the era of abandoned projects in the state was over. He also said that IF-K is the second phase of his government's long term strategy to diversify the state's economy, stimulate economic growth via private sector participation in infrastructure development and create opportunities for collective prosperity.

Gov Ahmed "The purpose of the IF-K, therefore, is to pool funds for infrastructure projects, optimally leverage private sector resources for infrastructure development and channel State Internal Revenue to directly impact economic diversification and growth strategies",he said.

"IF-K is also designed to ensure maximum quality assurance for asset and services procured by government and encourage broader and deeper interactions with Kwara state government from private and non-private partners".

He noted that all ongoing and new projects across the state estimated at N11.1billion will be funded through the IF-K,stressing that payments for the projects will start in December 2016 and all the projects will be completed by 2018 before the expiration of his second term in office. The governor expressed optimism that "this injection will keep our project partners in business and have a positive spiral effect on employment generation".

He said, "Once the rains are over, we will commence major projects in the road, education, energy and health sectors across the state in a manner that accelerates development and ensures its even distribution.

"We will start with the flagging – off of the construction of a Diamond Underpass at Geri Alimi, Ilorin and the commissioning of our newly-acquired Asphalt plant".

Ahmed explained that his desire for rapid infrastructure growth, and the need for an appropriate savings and investment mechanism solely for infrastructure and related works informed the establishment of IF-K. He noted:"The fund will be financed through a N5b seed fund and a N500 million monthly contribution from the state's Internally Generated Revenue through an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order(ISPO).

"This implies that the money will be taken at source from the state's Internally Generated Revenue and provides an additional layer of assurance to project partners. Additional non- IGR funds, such as those from the federal government and global development partners will be added to IF-K as they become available. "Under IFK, funds will be disbursed on a quarterly basis, and are projected to grow by N6 billion by the end of the year.

"In order to ensure accountability, and insulate the funds from political control, the IF-K will be managed by a reputable investment company, Investment One, which has been appointed by law as trustee for the scheme".

The governor stressed that his government would continue to fund smaller projects through other platforms as only projects worth N300m and above will be included on the IF-K payment grid. He said further,"As a demonstration of faith and a token of our commitment to pay all outstanding contractor debts, we have disbursed N1.7b to significantly reduce current debt to contractors".

He explained that the only project worth N300m will be funded by iF-K,and in view of this,smaller projects will be funded through other platforms.

Ahmed stated that the internal revenues of the state have tripled since the creation of KWIRS early this year,adding that the security of the prosperity of the state prompted the creation of IF-K.