13 newly sworn-in state governors collectively borrowed a total sum of ₦226.8bn from domestic and external financiers within their first six months in office, DMO has revealed.
16 state governors also increased the debt profile of their states by ₦509.3bn with domestic and external debt of ₦243.95bn and $298.5m (₦265.37bn), respectively, according to findings by one of Nigerian national dailies, the PUNCH.
The external debt was calculated based on the exchange rate of ₦889/$ used by the Debt Management Office in its latest report that was published on its website.
The domestic and external debts were as of December 30 and June 30, 2023, respectively.
The states, which include Benue, Cross Rivers, Katsina, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Zamfara, and the Federal Capital Territory, got ₦115.57bn from domestic creditors, while governors of Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kano, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba and Zamfara states borrowed $125.1m (₦111.24bn) from external sources.
A breakdown of the data showed that Cross Rivers Governor, Bassey Otu, took the highest loan, with ₦16.2bn from domestic and $57.95m from foreign creditors between June and December 2023 for the sub-nationals.
Katsina State followed with the debt increasing by ₦36.93bn from ₦62.37bn to ₦99.3bn by December 2023.
Umar Bago’s Niger State is third on the list with a domestic debt of ₦17.85bn, surging from ₦121.95bn in June 2023 to ₦139.8bn by December of the same year.
Plateau got ₦16.32bn; Rivers borrowed ₦7.07bn; Zamfara, ₦14.26bn; and the FCT under the leadership of Nyesom Wike borrowed ₦6.75bn from domestic creditors.
Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State leads the way in borrowing from external lender with an accumulated external debt of $37.54m, while Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State borrowed $17.69m from external financiers.
In the same vein, the governors of Kano borrowed $6.6m; Niger, $1.27m; Plateau, $831,008; Sokoto, $499,472; Taraba, $1.51m; and Zamfara, $655,563, from external sources.
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