Former Kano State Governor, Mr. Abdullahi Ganduje, has rejected the demands of the Kano Debt Management Office (DMO) for repayment of external and domestic debts.
Naija News reported earlier that the Kano DMO had claimed to have paid off the N62 billion loan secured by the Ganduje administration.
Reacting to the allegations on Tuesday night, the All Progressives Congress (APC) leader maintained that not all the debts listed by the state DMO were incurred by the APC government.
A statement by Mr. Muhammad Garba, former Kano State Secretary of Information and Home Affairs and currently Chief of Staff to the APC National Chairman, said the debt claim is misleading and an attempt to divert attention from myriad political interests. He said it was a calculated attempt. and a financial scandal that rocked the state government.
Mr. Garba said the allegations, attributed to the Kano State DMO Director-General, Mr. Hamisu Sadi Ali, not only misleads the administration he serves, but also deceives the public servant who heads one of the most sensitive agencies of the government. He argued that it was not appropriate as such.
Garba stressed that while it is true that the Ganduje administration, like other governments in Nigeria, was in debt, not all the debts listed by the state debt management agency were incurred by the APC government.
The Chief of Staff also confirmed that the current debt portfolio of Kano State with foreign loans listed by the DMO was secured in 1992, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2015 and 2018.
Mr. Garba added that these loans include the Multi-State Road Project November 11, 1992 XDR 26,212,376.50; Malaria Control Strengthening Project 2007/10/10 XDR 11,550,000;Provincial Education Sector Project 2008/6/11 XDR 9,991,875;3rd National Fadama Project July 16, 2009 XDR 4,818,310.00 and Health System Development Project II August 4, 2009 XDR 2,313,697.80.
He also listed other loans secured outside the Ganduje regime, including the Commercial Agriculture Development Project 2009/07/16 XDR 17,670,000.00. Malaria Control Enhancement Project (Addition F.) 2010/06/21 XDR 5,927,445.10; Erosion and Watershed Management Project N/A USD 5,000,000.00.
The former chief claimed that the loans signed by the APC government included a sub-financing agreement of approximately 64 million euros for the Third National Urban Water Sector Reform Project with Agence France Development, signed in July 2018. .
Garba said the project was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and would now be implemented by the current administration in the state.
“Initially, the NNPP government boasted about this project until the media tracked it to the APC government, but then they started denying securing the loan,” he lamented.
The Chief of Staff said another project for which the APC government had secured financing for implementation was the Kano State Agro-Processing, Productivity and Enhancement P.N./ A stated that it was USD 36,847,000.00.
He further stated that there was also P. N/A 3,500,000.00 euros for rural access and agricultural marketing. Infrastructure loans. Excess Crude Account (ECA) November 2015 ₦10,000,000,000 Access Bank. Salary Relief November 2015 ₦20,000,000,000 Fidelity Bank and Budget Support – ₦17,569,000,000.
