Katsina State Government under the leadership of Governor Dikko Radda has dismissed claims by the Debt Management Office of an increase in the debt profile of the state.
In a recently published report by the DMO, it was disclosed that Katsina under Governor Radda, together with some other states of the federation, collected fresh loans to worsen their prevailing debt crises.
Katsina State was reported to have borrowed ₦36.93bn.
However, in a statement on Wednesday, Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed, spokesperson to the Governor faulted the report and said the state government has prioritized repaying subsisting loans secured by previous administrations since it came on board.
He further revealed that the sitting government is yet to take a loan since it assumed office on the 29th of May 2023.
“This is not to say that the state government will not borrow whenever the need arises. It could borrow to improve the lot of its people and the state in general,” he said.
“At the moment, however, there is no new loan. While we appreciate the efforts of the media in keeping the public informed about government activities, we regret any inconvenience the publication might have caused.
“We call on the media, and the members of the public to continue to support the present administration in its effort to provide meaningful projects to uplift the living standard of its citizenry,” the statement added.
Earlier, Zamfara, one of the states listed to have borrowed from domestic and external lenders have dispelled speculations surrounding the report of the DMO that the state borrowed ₦14.26bn in six months.
Join our WhatsApp community via https://goquick.ly/cj8q2 for instant and latest news updates.