Kwara denies borrowing N93b

Kwara State Government has denied borrowing N93bn over the last three years as alleged by a member of the state House of Assembly.

The government described the claim by Hon. Saheed Popoola, a member of the state House of Assembly from Ojomu/Balogun constituent in Offa Local Government Area of the state as false and totally out of line.

PulseNets reports that Saeed Popoola, recently dumped the All Progressives Congress, APC, for the Social Democratic Party, SDP, and formally notified the legislative arm.

In a statement by the Honourable Commissioner for Communications, Bode Towoju, the government said the interest of the people is paramount to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

He urged the people of the state to beware of rumour mongers who have started springing up poorly-calculated mischief in a bid to mislead the populace for selfish political gains.

Reacting to a claim by Hon. Popoola on a radio programme in which the lawmaker mischievously alleged that the administration has taken a total of N93bn loan since coming on board in 2019, Towoju said the claim is outright falsehood.

“The N93 billion loan claim is spurious. How can you come up with such preposterous propaganda when the facts of what the administration received are in the public domain?

“The government has spoken extensively on the bond it took as well as the budget support/loan refinancing facility,” the statement said.

“There is a debt stock of N93 billion naira. For the sake of emphasis, as against the unfounded claims, the totality of this loan was not accrued over the last three years under the leadership of the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

“The past administrations left a foreign loan of 43 million dollars. This is apart from the domestic debt of over 63 billion naira that this administration met on the ground.

“This administration, for the three years it has spent, has only taken a bond of 27 billion naira, out of which only N12billion has been drawn so far. The effect of what the administration has accessed can be seen in the numerous projects that are ongoing across the state.

“Some N18.6 billion refinancing facility has also been given to all the states, including Kwara State, by the Federal government to cushion the effects of the repayment of loans taken by past administrations and as a form of budget support.”

Towoju, said the loan secured by the present administration was for projects like the ongoing Gen. Tunde Idiagbon flyover at Tanke area in Ilorin, the two campuses of the Kwara State University in Osi and Ilesha Baruba that were abandoned by the past administration and other monumental projects, including Osi-Obbo road, Ilesha Gwanara Road, as well as many other roads, and other giant projects that are ongoing.

The Commissioner advised Hon. Saheed Popoola to focus on the legislative business for which the people of Ojomu-Balogun constituency elected him, rather than chasing shadow on radio.

The Commissioner called on Kwarans to get their Permanent Voters Cards(PVC’s) and focus on the numerous achievements of the governor, without paving ways for “rumour mongers” and “fake news carriers” even as the 2023 elections draw near.