The Ogun State government has accused the administration of a former governor, Ibikunle Amosun, of allegedly hiding N50 billion domestic debt.
The government said it has just unearthed the said debt through its diligence.
“We only got to know about this amount in the course of our carrying out due diligence on Ogun State finances shortly after we took over,” the government said in a statement issued by Kunle Somorin, chief press secretary to governor Dapo Abiodun.
The statement said that at least N50bn in financial liabilities were not accounted for in the financial report handed over to Abiodun in May 2019.
“As a transparent government committed to being accountable, we had to disclose this for the first time to give a true picture of the state’s indebtedness,” it said.
The government explained that that the statement was a follow-up to a report released by the Debt Management Office, which said the Ogun t government incurred N58bn domestic debt within the period of his administration.
The DMO had said that Abiodun’s administration had raised N58bn through domestic borrowing in 18 months.
The report said that from June 30, 2019, to December 30, 2020, Ogun had acquired a total of N58,316,493,347 local debts.
“The increase in the 2020 total debt of the state was due to an undisclosed gratuity and staff liabilities of about N50bn not recognized in the state financial statements in May 2019 at the end of the previous administration,” the government said.
“In order to show the complete picture of all state liabilities, the current administration booked the gratuities and staff liabilities in the financial statements of the state hence the increase.
“Residents and citizens of the state can attest to how Gov Abiodun is completing all the abandoned projects of his predecessor and commencing signature projects and roads.”
It’ a common phenomenon for previous and incumbent governors to bicker over hidden or undisclosed debts. Many financial activities of governments are usually shrouded in secrecy.
