Kogi Debt Proflile Rises By 622% In Five Years; Aisha Buhari, el Rufai Beg For Bello

By Uche Mbah

The Kogi state debt profile rose from N15.9 billion in 2014 to 114.77 billion as at June 2019-a total of 622% increase in less than five years according to the Debt Management Office. This spanned the period current governor Yahaya Bello has been in office.

Bello is seeking for re election in the state.

Governor Yahaya Bello has been accused several times of squandering the state funds on what a critic described as inconsequentials. He is owing Kogi workers thirty-nine  months salary arrears.

Kogi is a civil service state, and price of commodities depend on the monthly pay of workers.

But during the current campaign of the governor to retain his seat, several All Progressives Congress, APC, bigwigs were on hand to campaign for his re election. Prominent among them is the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, who pleaded on his behalf, asking the Kogi electorates to re elect him, since he is a young man who has made mistakes. Kaduna state governor, Nasir el Rufai, who is not owing salary in his own state-in fact he was reported to have increased teachers’ salaries-was reported to have knelt down to beg the electorates to forgive Bello and give him a second chance.

According to the debt Management Office, Kogi’s domestic debt in 2014 stood at  N10.30bn but rose to N105.14bn in 2019 June. For the external debt,  the state owed  $35.79m in 2014 which was increased to $31.58m in 2018. This brought the total debt in 2014 to N15.90bn which was increased to N114.77bn in 2019, a whooping 622% increase.

Bello appears to have followed the Federal government trait in borrowing, and there is no indications the trend will stop if he wins the forth coming elections.

Meanwhile, reactions are trailing the campaign by the All progressives congress, APC big wigs, with many saying that their begging of the electorates indicates that they have presented a weak candidate.

The governorship elections comes up tomorrow.

Only recently, at a peace parley for all governorship candidates in the state, thugs invaded the area resulting in tear gas being sprayed in the presence of the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Mohammed Adamu; the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, and other high profile visitors.

No arrests have been made in connection with the crisis.