Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has said he has never approached the Debt Management Office (DMO) for loans since the inception of his administration on May 29, 2023.
“We want to make a clarification on the position of the Debt Management Office report that the Zamfara State government borrowed N14.26 billion,” Lawal said in a statement on Monday.
According to the statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Sulaiman Bala Idris, “no domestic or external loans have been borrowed since Governor Dauda Lawal took office.
“It is important to note that the previous Zamfara State government floated a N20 billion bond but failed to collect the total amount.
“The immediate past government received N4 billion out of the N20 billion loan it requested for the Zamfara cargo airport project, though the funds were not utilized.
“Upon assuming office, we discovered that the payment terms made terminating the bond impossible without incurring a significant loss for the state.
“The balance of N16 billion out of the N20 billion borrowed by the past administration is the N14.26 billion captured by the Debt Management Office. The value is reduced due to inflation.
“The bond balance, which is still in a government account, has not been used, and it is being reserved for the airport project.”
