The Ebonyi State Government has debunked the report that it was among the states that borrowed N111.24 billion from domestic and foreign financiers in its first six months in office.
The Ebonyi State Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Leonard Uguru, firmly stated that Governor Francis Nwifuru has not borrowed from either internal or foreign creditors since he assumed office on May 29, 2023.
Uguru was reacting to the publication of the Debt Management Office, DMO, which reported that the Ebonyi State Government under Nwifuru, among other 16 states, had borrowed $125.1 million (N111.24 billion) from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
The report also disclosed that Ebonyi state has accumulated an external debt of $37.54 million.
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Speaking further, the commissioner stated: “Since the inception of this administration, the Ebonyi State Government has not borrowed any money, whether foreign or domestic loans. So, any organisation that’s writing that Ebonyi is among the states that have borrowed money, I don’t know where they are getting their data.
“Among the South East states, Ebonyi is still the least in both domestic and foreign debts. Even though we have a trace of debt, which is the 150 million dollar loan from Africa Development Bank and Islamic Bank inherited from the past administration in the reconstruction of Ring Road, which is what made the loan increase, it is worth it as the road cuts across various local government areas of the state.”
“Outside that, I don’t think there’s any other debt owed by the previous state government,” he added.
