An official of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Prof. Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, has given an account of how the federal government delays intervention programmes for citizens, citing the example of the Special Arrangement Industrial Processing Loan.
Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, who is a Senior Special Adviser to the AfDB President, said this in an interview after delivering a keynote address at 2022, 3rd Biennial African Scientific Integration Network Conference hosted by the Centre for Energy Research and Development, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun state.
He described the Federal Government as the bank’s most difficult client.
“I can tell you we have many projects in Nigeria and I am leading one of them. For the Special Arrangement Industrial Processing Loan, we raised $540m for each zone in Nigeria.
“We raised it, and the board of the AfDB approved it on December 13 but the Ministry of Finance did not sign until June 1. We were begging them to sign. By the way, this loan has less than a one per cent interest rate for 25 years and an eight-year moratorium. It is like someone is giving you money for free.
“Other countries have just one zone and they have been calling to thank us, thank the president, thank everyone for what you have done for us, but in Nigeria, you will be asked why you are pushing too much. We were supposed to launch the project by March 1. The Nigerian government is the most difficult client,” he said.
