By Suleiman Anyalewechi
The Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal has distanced his State from the list of about 13 new State Chief Executives purported to have accessed a cumulative N226 billion debts within their first nine months in office on behalf of their states.
The Source reports that the Debt Management Office ,DMO had a few days ago revealed that 13 newly elected state Governors have within their first 9 months in the saddle added to the debt profiles of their respective states to the tune of N226 billion. Zamfara state made the list by the reckoning of the DMO.
But in a statement issued on Monday March 1, 2024, by Suleiman Bala ,the Zamfara state Governor disputed the DMO record ,insisting that his administration since its inception has neither requested for, nor received any loan facilities, both domestic and or foreign..
Governor Lawal said what the DMO is misconstruing to be a new loan facility was a N20 billion bond floated by the immediate past administration, for the purpose of constructing the now rested Zamfara Airport.
He noted that out of the #20 billion bond the past regime could only access N4 billion before leaving office ,adding that the supposed balance of about N16 billion which has now being reduced to N14 billion due to the state of the economy is what DMO is recording as a new loan .
The Zamfara state Governor ,nevertheless noted that certain conditionalities attached to the remaining part of the bond (N14 billion) has not allowed the state to draw from it .
He therefore stated that it was inaccurate to list the state among others in the country that have jointly secured the purported fresh N226 billion loan facilities.
