The Kaduna State Government, through the Ministry of Finance, has denied procuring 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 governor stated further that the state was left with N3 billion, an amount which he said was not enough to pay salary as the state monthly wage bill stands at N5.2bn.
