Ex-Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu and All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate in next monthsl’s election, was not the first governor to issue a development bond, contrary to claim by his protege, and, Minister of Works, Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola.
Tinubu was elected as Lagos Governor in 1999, and, has claimed ownership of many developmental projects and policies in the state, including that he pioneered the issuance of Bonds in the country.
Fashola recently alluded to this as part of his the ongoing campaign for the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate.
Tinubu, a frontrunner in the February 25 presidential election has been hit with many controversy lately as his campaign team ramps up efforst to make him succeed Buhari as commander-in-chief.
“Let us remember that the first state bond for infrastructure and development in this country was raised during his (Tinubu’s) term as governor,” Fashola told local broadcaster Television Continental on January 12, 2023,” Fashola said on the Television Continental, TVC owned by the APC presidential hopeful.
When Tinubu, was Lagos state governor, Fashola served as his chief of staff before becoming governor himself.
In the interview, Fashola noted that some of Tinubu’s initiatives as governor were replicated across Nigeria.
Responding to concerns about Tinubu’s health, Fashola said anyone underestimating the candidate was doing so at “his own peril”.
Tinubu, a two-time governor of Lagos state from 1999 to 2007, has come under intense scrutiny since he won the APC’s nomination. AFP Fact Check has debunked several claims about his health.
But the claim that Lagos became the first Nigerian state to raise a bond for infrastructure under his watch is false.
Lagos raised first state bond?
Private corporations and state-owned enterprises can issue bonds to borrowers in order to finance infrastructure or development projects.
All state-issued bonds since 1978 are listed on the official website of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC.
The document shows that the now-defunct Bendel state— present-day Delta and Edo states — issued a bond during military rule in 1978. This predates Tinubu’s administration, which came into power in 1999 when Nigeria returned to democratic rule.
The 20-million naira bond (more than US$43,000 at the time) was issued to finance the development of a housing estate.
In 1986, Ogun state issued a 15-million naira bond for the development of a water project.
A year later, Lagos issued its first bond in the amount of 30 million naira for the development of the state’s Lekki Peninsula area.
After Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999, Edo and Delta states were the first states to issue bonds.
In 2000, Edo state released a bond of 1 billion naira for the development of a housing estate. That same year, Delta state also issued a bond of 3.5 billion naira for a variety of development projects including the construction of a market and water facilities.
Under Tinubu, Lagos state 2002 issued a 15-billion naira bond, the state’s first since the return to civil rule, to refinance development projects in the state, according to the SEC’s document.
Information on the official website of the Lagos state Debt Management office shows that the bond was successfully redeemed in 2008.
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