Okowa, Other 10 Ex-govs Pile Up N3 Trillion Debts For Successors

Immediate past governors of 11 states comprising Delta, Katsina, Cross River, Benue, Kano, Enugu, Abia, Kaduna, Plateau, Niger and Rivers states accumulated about N3 Trillion in debt and liability obligations which they passed over to their successors, newtelegraphng.com reports.

That was even as Sokoto State did not handover any document to the new administration. Hence, there is no record of the State’s liabilities nor assets. Sunday Telegraph’s analysis of handover notes passed by out-gone governors of the affected states to their successor governors who were sworn-in Monday, May 29, revealed the amount of external and local debt and other contractual obligations.

According to the reports, in Delta State, the immediate past administration of Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, left behind a total debt of N272 billion for Sheriff Oborevwori, the new helmsman. Former Commissioner for Information in the State, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, defended the debt, saying it amounted to nothing compared to some states.

The sum includes other contractual obligations. However, he refuted the N840 billion debt profile allegation claimed by governorship candidate of APC, Chief Ovie Omo-Agege. He said N100 billion bridging finance and N71 billion supplementary budgets were not loans.

The former commissioner for finance, Mr Fidelis Tilije, said: “The total debt size of the state is N272 billion and the state is not the second most indebted in the country as reported. “N84 billion of the debt is for contractors and N27 billion is for pension arrears and a larger part of the debt was inherited by the administration of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.”

He said the N240 billion from the Federation Account as arrears of 13 percent oil derivation, has been discounted. He maintained that Okowa’s administration only discounted a part of the expected money from the Federal Allocation and Accounts Committee (FAAC), and left the balance for the incoming administration.

Oborevwori, however said he was unperturbed by the debt, and rated Okowa high in transparency, accountability and financial prudence.

Katisina owes N86.5 billion

Katsina State government under the immediate past Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, who inherited N11.6 billion in 2015 transmitted a debt profile in total of N86.5 billion ( internal and external debt) to his successor, Mallam Dikko Umaru Radda of the same party, the APC.

Dikko Umaru, former Chief Executive Officer at SMEDAN was sworn in as Masari successor on May 29. Also left behind as liability by Masari besides the N86.5 billion is backlog of monies owed to retired state civil servants, state and local government employees.

Cross River owes $279.7m (external), N159.8bn (internal)

In Cross River state, Senator Ben Ayade’s administration as of 2022 was said to owe $279.7 million as external debt, N159.8 billion internal debt.

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Ortom leaves N187. 56bn liability

In Benue State, former Governor Samuel Ortom departed the state with a debt profile of N187.56 billion to his successor, Rev. Father Hyacinth Iornem Alia.

The former governor said that the total income, which accrued to the state within the eight years of his reign from all sources, including Statutory Income, Value Added Tax (VAT) Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) as well as other FAAC incomes including grants, refunds and loans) was N734.96 billion as at 30th April, 2023.

He said that the total expenditure on both recurrent items including salary/ wages, pension and gratuity, overhead or cost of running government services, loan service obligations, refunds/ remittances to local government councils and capital expenditure amounted to N735.6 billion as at 30th April 2023.

The governor explained that the N187.56 billion debt profile, included salary and pension arrears, loans and bonds as well as outstanding contractual obligations, while the total debt swap for the state and local government councils was N71.6 billion, stressing that the state’s expected inflows from stamp duties, accumulated stamp duties, refund from debt swap with the Federal Government totaled N70.95 billion.

He said his administration inherited huge pension liabilities and spent over N2.4 billion on payment of gratuity and N24.4 billion on pensions at the state level. According to him, his inability to pay retirement benefits of retired staff as at when due gave rise to the need for the government to domesticate the Federal Government reforms in pension administration through the Benue State Pension Law, 2019, which introduced the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

Ganduje leaves N241.3bn liabilities, N75.6bn debt

Former governor of Kano State, Dr Umar Abdullahi Ganduje, left behind liabilities of N241.3 billion and a debt profile of N75.6 billion. His successor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has ordered security agencies in the state to immediately take over all public properties sold by the government of Ganduje.

Some of the properties the governor was referring to include lands in and around schools, religious and cultural sites, hospitals and clinics, graveyards and green areas, and along the city wall of Kano, as well as other landed properties and assets belonging to Kano State within and outside the state to their cronies and agents.

He announced that a Judicial Commission of Inquiry would be set up to ensure that all perpetrators and those who aided and abetted them are brought to justice. The Governor also relieved all political appointees heading government MDAs and companies of their appointment with immediate effect.

Speaking while handing over the mantle of power to Abba Kabir Yusuf, the outgoing Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, said the Ganduje’s government collected Revenues of N1.2 trillion in the last eight years and spent all the N1.2 trillion.

He said the state has the largest workforce of 62,986 but was faced by acute scarcity of funds. Usman Alhaji noted that out of the N75.6 billion, N9.2 billion was for the State, while the 44 Local Government Areas had N66.3 billion liabilities.

Yusuf was miffed at departure from traditional means of handing over inheritance in the state from 1999 to 2015 when Musa Kwankwaso handed over to Abdullahi Ganduje.

He said: “In fact, that time Kwankwaso stayed behind for the swearing– in of Ganduje. So, I see no reason whatsoever that he Ganduje could not stay to handover, but sent a letter that he wanted to handover by 9pm which we rejected as against the Constitutional provisions”.

Enugu owes N91.86bn, $123m

Immediate past Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State left behind domestic debt of N91.86 billion from N48.42 billion he met in 2015. He also left an external debt of $123,024,888.67.

He grew the state’s annual IGR to N26.71 billion in 2021 from N18 billion as at 2015. Gov. Peter Mbah took over the reins of power from Ugwuanyi on May 29, 2023. Both of them were elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Otti inherits N200bn debts, N50bn unpaid salaries

In Abia State, Governor Alex Otti disclosed during the handover ceremony that the administration of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu left a liability of N200 billion in foreign and local debts and N50 billion in unpaid salaries, pensions and gratuities.

Otti declared that regardless of the debt burden, civil servants would be paid regularly henceforth on the 18th of every month, even as he announced the abolition of discriminatory gradation of core and non-core civil servants in salary payment.

Niger Owes N98.2bn, $69m external debts

In Niger State, former Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, after eight years of two-terms of four years bequeathed to his fellow All Progressives Congress (APC) man and the incumbent Governor, Rt. Hon. Umar Bago the sum of N98, 262,195,557.88k and $69,266,186.30 in domestic and external debts respectively.

Sani comfortable with $577.3, N80.6bn debts in Kaduna

In Kaduna State, former Governor Nasir El- Rufai left behind $ 577.32million, N80.60 billion debts for the new Governor Uba Sani. El-rufai confirmed the figures at the handing over and swearing in of Sani. He also left behind a total of N80.60 billion internal debts with the subheadings domestic debts and other contingent liabilities.

He, however, said he had a cash balance of 5 Billion in Treasury Single Account (TSA) and $2.05million in the domiciliary account of the State.

He said: “We have spent N818.9 billion as capital expenditure between 2015 and 2022 in the prosecution of our first and second State Development Plans, attracting nearly US $5billion in foreign and domestic investments that created jobs, improved our tax receipts and laid a solid foundation for the future.

“We are leaving behind a net cash balance in our Treasury Single Account of about 5 Billion after deductions for the payment of salaries, pensions and dues to the Local Government Councils, and US $2.05million in our Domiciliary Account as of yesterday 28th May 2023.”

However, unlike others lamenting the state of affairs, Sani said he was “extremely grateful to my leader and mentor, Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufa’i for building a legacy, which I will easily key into to ensure that the progress of this State continues, on all facets.

In Plateau State, former Governor Simeon Lalong leftover N200 billion debt obligations to the new government headed by Barrister Caleb Mutfwang.

Rivers owes two banks N7bn

In his eight years in office, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, took loans at various times to execute major projects across the state. Wike avoided foreign loans mainly because the state had a history of doing business with some banks in the country, which also found the state worthy of such loans because of its capacity to repay and track records.

This explains why the law- makers at the Rivers State House of Assembly did not for once turn down Wike’s loan request. For example, in June, 2015, two weeks after Wike assumed office, the Rivers State House of Assembly approved a N10 billion loan from Zenith Bank.

About a year later, in June 2016, he got another N12 Billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria. In August, 2020, Wike also got the approval of N18 bil- lion from Access Bank Plc. Barely a month after, the lawmakers approved another N6.5 billion loan for Wike.

The last loan approval was a N15 billion credit support from the Central Bank. At a point, there were reports that the state owed almost N200 billion. But Wike dismissed the report, saying he did not know where the claims were coming from.

newtelegraphng.com