Oyo receives N7.2bn Paris Club excess deduction —– Commissioner

Mr Toye Arulogun, the State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, made this known to newsmen in Ibadan.

The Federal Government approved the sum of N522.74 billion to be paid to the 36 states of the federation as part of the reimbursement for over deduction on the Paris Club loan.

Gov. Abiola Ajimobi had on Jan. 4 during the state’s annual inter-religious service, debunked claims that the state government had collected its share of the fund.

Ajimobi had said that he was hopeful that the state would be paid as promised.

The governor had promised to allocate 50 per cent of the fund to settling outstanding salaries when the money was paid.

The state government had announced in December 2016 and reiterated in January 2017 that the state was excluded from the initial beneficiary states of the Paris Club over-deduction funds.

“Oyo State was initially excluded from the states to benefit from the Paris Club over-deducted fund.

“The governor was not at peace with the development and swung into action to ensure that the state was included on the list.

“The effort of the governor has yielded result.”

Arulogun said that the governor had mandated the state Ministry of Finance to reconcile accounts with the Federal Ministry of Finance, which resulted in the payment of N7.2 billion to the state.

He also explained that 60 per cent of the fund collected was added to the federal allocation to the state to pay salaries of workers for the months of August and September 2016.

“We have used 60 per cent of the funds received to pay salaries as promised by the governor during the inter-faith service of the Oyo State Government held on Jan. 4.

“The state appreciates the cooperation of the Minister and Federal Ministry of Finance officials, who facilitated the payment that has brought some degree of succour to workers in the state.

“The state government will be able to deliver more dividends of democracy to the people,” Arulogun said.