Governor El-Rufai says he will oppose any other state getting World Bank loan after Kaduna was rejected

KADUNA State governor Nasir El-Rufai has declared that he will not allow the World Bank will not grant loans to any state in Nigeria if his state is not included in any such plans after the senate scuttled his application for funding.

Earlier this month, the Nigerian senate approved the facility for other states but rejected the $350m request of Kaduna State based on opposition from the three senators representing the state. Governor El-Rufai, who spoke while declaring open the 2018 Law Week of the Nigerian Bar Association, Barnawa branch, Kaduna, wondered why the senate blocked his state when it met all the conditions for the loan.

Represented by his deputy, Barnabas Bala Bantex, the governor said that the refusal of the senate to approve the loan request had a political undertone. He added that the World Bank is faced with a moral issue to grant the loan to other states without Kaduna, which according to him, is most qualified for the loan.

"The World Bank won’t grant loan to any state without Kaduna. How do we handle not approving or not giving out a loan for which a state government is fully qualified and approve to others, which I wouldn’t say are less qualified?" Governor El-Rufai added.