The Edo State Accountant Accountant-General, Julius Anelu has revealed the internal debt profile of the state government as of November 11, 2024, pegging it at over N1 trillion.
The Accountant-General who made the revelation during a meeting with members of the Edo State Assets Verification Committee also reported that the state’s external debt was N282 billion.
Anelu said the increase in the debt profile was occasioned by the depreciation of the value of the naira, saying at the time the loans were taken, the value of the naira was not as low as it is today.
The Accountant-General told the committee that his office had written to all the banks in the state that had transactions with the state government to furnish his office with their statements of accounts to present to the committee.
He also told the committee that through investigations, they would discover that most of the loans were channelled directly to the agencies for which they were secured.
He promised to furnish the committee with all necessary and vital documents to make the job less cumbersome.
On the mode and method of contract executions and payments, the Accountant-General told the committee that most of the payments were made through the commercial banks that served as sureties for the contractors and financed their projects.
He also disclosed that the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning would appear before the committee to explain the budget implementation and performance since 2017