The Zamfara State Government has said it did not borrow the sum of 14.26 billion as speculated by the opposition party in the state, saying that the money was part of the proceeds from a 20 billion Naira loan floated by the previous administration.
A statement by the spokesman of the State Governor, Sulaiman Bala Idris, disclosed that no domestic or external loans have been borrowed since Governor Dauda Lawal took over office.
“We would like to clarify the Debt Management Office, DMO report that the Zamfara State Government borrowed N14.26 billion Naira”, the statement added.
“Zamfara State Government has never applied for loans or approached the State Assembly or National Assembly for such a request”
“It is important to note that the previous Zamfara State government floated a N20 billion bond but failed to collect the total amount”
“The immediate past government received N4 billion naira out of the 20 billion loans requested for the Zamfara cargo airport project, though the funds were not utilized.
“Upon assuming office, we discovered that the payment terms made terminating the bond impossible without incurring a significant loss for the state.
“The balance of N16 billion Naira out of the N20 billion borrowed by the past administration is the N14.26 billion captured by the Debt Management Office (DMO). The value is reduced due to inflation.
“The bond balance, which is still in a government account, has not been used and will be reserved for the airport project.”
