Kaduna governor Uba Sani opens up on taking fresh $17.69m foreign loan

The Kaduna State Government under Governor Uba Sani has denied procuring a fresh $17.69m loan.

The state Commissioner for Finance, Shizzer Bada, made the government’s position known in a press statement on Thursday.

She explained that no borrowing of $17.69m was undertaken under the present administration.

“We did not borrow the said amount or any other amount as reported. The claims are entirely false and fabricated.

“There must be clarity for borrowing and it is crucial to understand that; borrowing activities by sub-national entities in Nigeria are strictly governed by a framework comprising the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” she said.

According to her, government, under the leadership of Governor Uba Sani, has not entered into any agreement or received any foreign loan  as claimed.

“The legal provisions outlined in relevant statutes are clear regarding external borrowing by government entities.

“The Debt Management Office (Establishment, Etc.) Act, 2003, explicitly mandates that no external loan can be approved or obtained without prior presentation of its terms and conditions to the National Assembly for approval,” she added.

The government urged the public to disregard the report and refrain from succumbing to misinformation.

Recently, Governor Uba, during a town hall meeting, lamented the huge debt inherited from his predecessor, Nasir El-Rufai on May 29, 2023.

He said his administration inherited a total of $587m, N85bn, and 115 contract liabilities from the ex-governor.

According to him, N7bn out of the N10bn Federal Allocation for the state in March was used to service debt.

The disclosure is causing disquiet in the State with supporters of both Governor Sani and his predecessor El-Rufai castigating their principals.

Meanwhile, reacting to the development,  a former federal lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani, has called for a constitution of an investigative panel to probe the immediate-past Governor Nasir El-Rufai and his appointees.

Senator Shehu Sani in post made on his Twitter said the ‘looting of Kaduna State’ cannot be remedied by mere revelations of the debt profile of the State, hence Governor Sani needed to be courageous to go after those who presided over the affairs of the State in the past

Senator Sani wrote:

“The looting of Kaduna State cannot be remedied by revelations alone; but by Courageously constituting a probe panel headed by an independent professional Accountant or Auditor who will invite and investigate ex Government officials and their proxy Contractors to account for the millions in Dollars and Billions in Naira that were misused or outrightly stolen, including the $350million loan.

“Kaduna State is at its hour of reckoning with the truth I foretold and the truth for which I was vilified.”

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