, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed and Minister of Works, road and Power Babatunde Fashola, said the loan was part of a $600 million loan granted by World Bank to finance the construction of roads and other infrastructural development projects in the state. “After the first tranche was disbursed, there was a freeze on the second tranche. The initial agreements we had with the World Bank was a 40-year loan, a 10-year moratorium and 0.5 percent interest. But because of the delays that subsequently characterised the partisan interference that took place, our profile as a nation also changed we have become a bigger economy. Though money was being lent to us, we are no longer taking it as a highly indebted nation. So by the time this one was approved, because of the delays, we had lost the opportunity of 40 years as it is now a loan of 25 years, the moratorium has reduced to five years instead of 10 years. The interest rate had gone up to 2.5 percent, but what is still heart-warming about it is that it helps to finance infrastructure.”
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