The Anambra State Government has revealed that it is still servicing loans incurred during the administrations of former governors Peter Obi and Willie Obiano, as the Chukwuma Soludo-led government continues efforts to reduce the state’s debt burden.
The Commissioner for Finance, Izuchukwu Okafor, disclosed this during a Ndi Anambra podcast released by the state government’s New Media team on Monday, while giving an update on the state’s financial position.
Okafor said the Soludo administration had not obtained any commercial bank loan since assuming office but had continued to make repayments on debts inherited from previous governments.
“It’s on record that this administration has not borrowed a kobo from any commercial bank since the inception of this administration,” he said.
The commissioner explained that deductions are made monthly from Anambra’s Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) funds to repay loans secured by previous administrations.
According to him, some of the outstanding obligations were accumulated during the tenures of former governors Peter Obi and Willie Obiano.
“These loans were borrowed during the time of Peter Obi and Willie Obiano, the past governors,” Okafor said.
He, however, stated that the Soludo administration had successfully reduced the state’s debt profile by more than 83 per cent while clearing several inherited domestic obligations.
The commissioner listed unpaid contracts, gratuity arrears and pension backlogs among the liabilities addressed by the current government.
“We have been able to manage the state debt very well, that we have brought it down by more than 83 per cent as of today,” Okafor said.
He added that Anambra’s domestic debt was now close to zero balance following the repayment of several outstanding obligations.
On external debts, Okafor explained that repayments were tied to agreements with lending institutions, including World Bank-backed facilities, resulting in automatic deductions from the state’s federal allocations.
“Before they limit Anambra’s own allocation, they will deduct it as such because most of them, World Bank loans and other loans, they committed,” he said.
The commissioner also disclosed that the state recently cleared one of its outstanding debts, known as CAGS, saying the move had created more financial room for the government to execute development projects.
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