The governor of Kaduna State, Sani Uba, has said that he inherited a huge debt burden of $587m, N85bn and 115 contractual liabilities from his predecessor, Nasir El-Rufai’s government and that the huge debt has eaten deep into the state’s federal allocation.
The governor disclosed this at a town hall meeting on Saturday, March 30. The governor at the townhall meeting gave stewardship of his 10-months in office. He lamented that due to the rise in the exchange rate, the state is now paying back almost triple of what was borrowed by the previous administration.
He explained that N7bn out of the N10bn federal allocation for the state in March was deducted to service the state’s debt. The governor further lamented that the state was left with N3bn, an amount he said was not enough to pay salaries, as the state’s monthly salary bill stands at N5.2 billion.
Governor Sani said despite the debt inherited, his administration had not borrowed “a single kobo” in the last nine months of his government.
“Despite the huge debt burden of $587 million, N85 billion, and 115 contractual liabilities sadly inherited from the previous administration, we remain resolute in steering Kaduna State towards progress and sustainable development. We have conducted a thorough assessment of our situation and are sharpening our focus accordingly. It gladdens my heart to inform you that despite the huge inherited debt on the state, till date, we have not borrowed a single kobo,” he said
In attendance at the meeting were traditional rulers and religious leaders, politicians, members of the Organised Labour, civil society organisations, youths and women groups. Also present include a former governor of Kaduna State, Ramalan Yero; a former Chief of Defence Staff, General Martin-Luther Agwai; members of the Kaduna State Executive Council, as well as members of the House of Assembly led by the Speaker, Yusuf Liman.
