Kaduna: Uba Sani inherits N80.60bn, $577m local, foreign debts from El-Rufai

The former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-rufai has declared that he left N80.60 billion local debts and $577.32m foreign debts for the new Governor of the state, Senator Uba Sani.

In his farewell speech to the people of the state on Monday, he also disclosed that N5 billion was left in Treasury Single Account (TSA) and 2.05 million dollars in domiciliary account.

Buttressing his point, he maintained that as of last financial year, the state government has the following liabilities; domestic debt of N64.54bn, Other Contingent Liabilities of N16.06bn and Foreign debts of US $577.32m.

“We have spent N818.9bn as capital expenditure between 2015 and 2022 in the prosecution of our first and second State Development Plans, attracting nearly US $5bn in foreign and domestic investments that created jobs, improved our tax receipts and laid a solid foundation for the future.

“We are leaving behind a net cash balance in our Treasury Single Account of about N5bn after deductions for the payment of salaries, pensions and dues to the Local Government Councils, and US $2.05m in our Domiciliary Account as of yesterday 28th May 2023.

“Kaduna State has receivables for reimbursements of infrastructure and security spending from the Federal Government amounting to about N41bn, that will be paid to the state in due course.

However,he posited that this does not include the sums due to the state as share of the accumulated stamp duties receipts, estimated at over N100bn, that the incoming government will certainly receive before the end of this year.

“I am therefore optimistic that the incoming government will in due course be in a position to settle all inherited liabilities, complete ongoing projects and initiate new ones by the Grace of God.

“We governed under very difficult fiscal circumstances, surviving two recessions, collapses of crude oil prices, the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war. We therefore had to borrow extensively to spend our way out of recession and pursue our ambition to make Kaduna great again.

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