Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu and Zamfara Governor Dauda Lawal have denied obtaining or signing for fresh loan (domestic or foreign), since the inception of their administration on May 29, 2023.
Governor Otu’s reaction follows the figures presented on the spreadsheet of the Debt Management Office (DMO) and posted on its website.
The same figure from the DMO is what some media houses, notably Straightnews Newspaper, relied upon, analyzed, and reported on their Tuesday, April 2, 2024 edition.
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Nsa Gill, Governor Otu wondered how the Debt Management Office arrived at N220.2 billion as the domestic debt profile of Cross River State as of December 2023, up from N204.04 billion posted for the State as of June 30th, 2023.
Similarly, Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal also denied that his administration borrowed N14.26 billion, clarifying that the money was part of the proceeds from a 20 billion naira loan floated by the previous administration in the state.
A statement by the spokesperson of the governor, Sulaiman Bala Idris, revealed that no domestic or external loans have been borrowed since Mr Lawal assumed office as governor of the state.
“We would like to clarify the Debt Management Office (DMO) report that the Zamfara State Government borrowed N14.26 billion naira.”
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‘‘The difference in the figures, subtracting N204 billion from N220.2billion is the purported N16.2 billion reported as a fresh domestic loan allegedly obtained by Governor Bassey Otu’s administration. This is not true.
“There’s no record in the annals of the State government that suggests that fresh borrowing was undertaken; since inception till date; both domestic debt and foreign debt.
“We challenge any person, including the DMO, who has evidence of any fresh loan taken under the administration of Governor Bassey Otu to make that Public,” the Governor’s spokesman said.
He noted that fresh loans take processes including seeking legislative approvals. “The governor has not signed nor taken in a fresh loan on behalf of the State.”
He also quoted the Governor saying, “Anyone in doubt of our position can make findings with the State legislature and even to the DMO. I have taken up the matter with the DMO and they have denied knowledge of any fresh loan under the current administration.”
The Chief Press Secretary said Governor Otu frowns at the manner the DMO posted the figures as a fresh debt profile of the State Government, which has caused confusion in the minds of well-meaning citizens and lovers of the State.
“It is also pertinent that the media and the general public understands that the dynamics of DMO debt profile spreadsheets includes the principal amount plus interest over time as well as other variables that may have been made available to DMO; such as judgment debts, contract debts, garnish orders, etc.
‘‘In this case, Cross River State Government vehemently rebukes any interest calculation and any surreptitious calculation that portrays the government to have increased her domestic debt profile by N16.2 billion from June 2023 to December 2023. And the Foreign debt by $57.9 million within the same period.
“We would like to reiterate that, Senator Bassey Edet Otu’s “People First” administration has promised the good people of Cross River State a very financially responsible leadership and will not borrow except for very critical and fiscally responsible reasons in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007.
‘‘More so, the Governor has directed the Commissioner for Finance in the State to take up the DMO on the figures and ensure clear explanations are given on the published figures that are untrue and unacceptable,’’ he added.
