Against fears from residents of Ogun state concerning the current debt profile of the state, Governor Ibikunle Amosun has disclosed that his administration was only indebted to the tune of N26 billion as loan since inception in 2011.
Residents of the state had begun to raise concerns about how the governor had been getting the funds with which he was carrying out several projects at the same time. But Governor Amosun, on Tuesday, while explaining the financial status of the state in Abeokuta, Ogun state, said the people of the state would soon be made to know how their taxes had so far been spent.
According to the governor, since May 29, 2011, all the total money borrowed by his administration is N26 billion and as “I am talking to you today; we have paid back a total sum of N10.7 billion, both the principal and the interest.
“When we came in, what they handed over to us was N49 billion,” he said stressing that at that period, there were also many cheques signed by officials of the past administration during the administration’s last days in office.
He said if the cheques where to be added to the debt he met on ground, the total figure of the debt would have been about N87 billion excluding the arrears of the local government staff salary, pensions, and other such areas. He said as an accountant, he knows that the current debt profile is okay for the state.
Dousing the fears of residents of the state, Governor Amosun said: “we would not take what would create problem for our people in future. We are not like those people who want to take us into complete bondage.” He however said he was preparing to write to the state House of Assembly to take a loan of about N15 billion. He promised that his administration would continue to maintain its prudent spending of public resources.
The governor, who disclosed that the state internally generated revenue had increased more that 100 percent, said this had made it easy for his administration to embark on project execution across the state. He said from N730 million when he came in as governor, the state now makes N3.2 billion as internally generated revenue.
“When we came on board, the IGR of this state was around N730 million monthly and I can boldly tell you now that we have increased it beyond one hundred percent as we are now raking in N3.2 billion monthly. It is not only the money from either Ita Osu or Kuto market that matters, all the big industries in the state must pay what it is expected of them,” the governor said adding that more still needed to be done in the area of revenue generation.
The governor pleaded with the residents to avoid being bamboozled by rumour mongers and those bent on perpetrating mischief concerning the administration. He said such people do not know what they are saying and that they are being disturbed by their own ignorance.
The governor confirmed that “several statements have been made on the financial status of Ogun state but I can tell the good people of this state without fear or favour that the true picture and figure of our financial position is what I have just told you.”
