The Debt Management Office has reportedly disclosed in an analysis of its latest sub-national debt reports that thirteen new state governors within the initial six months of their tenure collectively borrowed N226.8 billion from both domestic and external financiers.
These findings surfaced following an investigation conducted by newsmen, which further revealed that an additional 16 state governors augmented the debt profile of their respective states by N509.3 billion.
According to the report, states such as Benue, Cross River, Katsina, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Zamfara, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) secured N115.57 billion from domestic creditors.
Conversely, governors of Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kano, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, and Zamfara states borrowed $125.1 million (N111.24 billion) from external sources.
A closer examination of the data reveals that Cross River Governor, Bassey Otu, topped the list of borrowing, obtaining N16.2 billion domestically and $57.95 million from foreign creditors between June and December 2023. Katsina State followed suit with its debt soaring by N36.93 billion from N62.37 billion to N99.3 billion by December 2023
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