Hmmmm! Another passionate request from Gov. Abdulrazaq

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has been urged to consolidated fund to mitigate the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on events, media and entertainment practitioners in the state.

The group noted that the fund should be made accessible to members of the coalition with at single digit interest.

They however asked that the loan should have post-COVID-19 moratorium so that they will start repaying immediately after the coronavirus pandemic with ease of doing business.

Spokesperson of the group, Mr Ben Nwabor, stated this while speaking to journalists in Ilorin, the state capital.

He said: “Event and entertainment industry is worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic. We were the first to be closed down and we are likely going to be the last to be opened.

“We want to comply with the NCDC rules by not having illegal activities and we also want to corporate with the Kwara state government in ensuring that we flattened the curve and the disease disappear in Kwara state completely but we also have staff to cater for and that is why we in the hospitality, events and entertainment hereby plead with His Excellency, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to have a consolidated fund that we can have as loan on interest but with a post-COVID moratorium.

“A lot of us have gone into one loan or the other before the advent of the Coronavirus and the banks are not listening, they say you must pay. What we are requesting for therefore is that the state government set up a consolidated fund that they can give to us as loans that has interest single digit and post-covid moratorium. Immediately Covid is over, we are ready to begin to pay off our loans.”

Mr. Nwabor added that, “It will help us not to throw off all the staff that we already have, because a lot of us have been paying staff between twenty, thirty, forty thousand on a monthly basis from March till today out of our own funds.

“We have to maintain security because of our equipment, we have to maintain our drivers and other trained personnel. We cannot continue to maintain all these people and the same time, we still want to conform with all the rules of the state government, we want to conform with the rules of NCDC, we want to stay safe and we want Nigerians to stay safe this is our appeal.”

The group therefore maintained that the request would enable them to continue to keep paying the salaries of their essential staff and not add to the already bloated labour market.