The Zamfara State Government has denied borrowing the sum of 14.26 billion, as claimed by the state’s opposition party, saying that the funds were part of the earnings from the previous administration’s 20 billion Naira loan.
Sulaiman Bala Idris, the State Governor’s spokesperson, stated that neither domestic nor external debts had been obtained since Governor Dauda Lawal entered office.
According to the statement:
“We would like to clarify the Debt Management Office, DMO report that the Zamfara State Government borrowed N14.26 billion Naira.
“Zamfara State Government has never applied for loans or approached the State Assembly or National Assembly for such a request.
“It is important to note that the previous Zamfara State government floated a N20 billion bond but failed to collect the total amount.
“The immediate past government received N4 billion naira out of the 20 billion loans requested for the Zamfara cargo airport project, though the funds were not utilized.
“Upon assuming office, we discovered that the payment terms made terminating the bond impossible without incurring a significant loss for the state.
“The balance of N16 billion Naira out of the N20 billion borrowed by the past administration is the N14.26 billion captured by the Debt Management Office (DMO). The value is reduced due to inflation.
“The bond balance, which is still in a government account, has not been used and will be reserved for the airport project.”
cc: Daily Post Ng
