The governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El Rufai, said Monday World Bank told him that no state in the country would access its loan if Kaduna State is not considered by the National Assembly.
It would be recalled that the Senate penultimate week, rejected $350 million loan facility for Kaduna State following, objections from the three senators from the state on the ground that Kaduna was already too heavily indebted.
Apart from Kaduna, Abia, Ogun, and Lagos, among others, also applied for various sums from the World Bank for development purposes.
Speaking at the maiden edition of the Barnawa branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Law week Monday, El Rufai said the World Bank assured him that if Kaduna, which met 90 per cent requirement to access the facility was denied by the National Assembly, then no other state would be considered
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Bala Bantex, accused the three senators from the state of playing politics with the issue of development.
“When we applied for the loan, some people brought politics into it; but the World Bank is saying that Kaduna State has met 90 percent of the loan requirements and, therefore, it would not give the loan to any state that applied, if Kaduna State is not given.
“What we are saying is that we should separate politics from the need to develop our state as quickly as possible,” the governor said.
While commending the NBA for the choice of its theme, ”Curbing corruption and insecurity in Nigeria: socioeconomic, legal and political perspectives,” the governor said corruption and insecurity were two major factors that could retard the development of Nigeria.
He said when there was corruption, the economy bleeds just as he added that insecurity on the other hand, could discourage investments.
“For us to tackle these challenges, there must be synergy between the NBA and the government. In Kaduna State, we have made frantic efforts by making law that reduces crimes.
The governor, therefore, called on members of the NBA to join hands with the government in the fight against corruption in order to ensure good governance in the state.
As a demonstration of its commitment to fighting corruption, El Rufai said his government equipped the regional office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, as part of its contribution to assist the commission in fighting corruption.
Earlier in her welcome address, Justice Uwani Abba Aji, chairman of the occasion, who is the Presiding Justice, Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division, charged lawyers to get prepared for the task of the 2019 general elections as there would be cases to prosecute and defend.
Aji charged lawyers to abide by the ethics of their profession at all times.
In his speech, Napoleon Idenala, the chairman of Barnawa branch of the NBA, said the theme of this year’s law week was carefully chosen to afford participants an opportunity to proffer solution to the key vices of corruption and insecurity the country was faced with.
