Report by the Debt Management Office (DMO) in Nigeria has shown that within the first six months after taking office, 13 new governors have collectively borrowed N226.8bn from both domestic and external financiers.
The report also showed that 16 state governors increased the debt profile of their states by N509.3bn, with domestic and external debts of N243.95bn and $298.5m (N265.37bn), respectively.
The external debt was calculated based on the exchange rate of N889/$ used by the DMO.
The debts published on the DMO’s website were as of December 30 and June 30, 2023, for domestic and external borrowings, respectively.
The states involved in this include Benue, Cross Rivers, Katsina, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Zamfara, and the Federal Capital Territory, who collectively got N115.57bn from domestic creditors.
On the other hand, governors of Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kano, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, and Zamfara states borrowed $125.1m (N111.24bn) from external sources.
States in Northern Nigeria that a ceased loans include Katsina State, with the debt increasing by N36.93bn from N62.37bn to N99.3bn by December 2023.
This is followed by Niger State, with a domestic debt of N17.85bn, rising from N121.95bn in June 2023 to N139.8bn by December of the same year.
Plateau state is next with N16.32bn.
Zamfara state battered by banditry, got N14.26bn.
Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State who says he is finding it difficult to pay workers salary in the state due to the debt burden by the immediate past Governor Nasiru Elrufai, also added salt to injury by borrowing $17.69m from external financiers.
Similarly, the Kano state Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf borrowed $6.6m, Niger borrowed $1.27m, Sokoto borrowed $499,472, Taraba borrowed $1.51m while Zamfara borrowed $655,563 all from external financiers.
However, it is noted that state governors under the Presidency of Bola Ahmad Tinubu got the most from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations in at least seven years. The rise in FAAC allocations to the three tiers of government, especially the states.
This resulted from the removal of subsidy on petrol and currency reforms by the administration. The reforms have reportedly led to a 40 per cent boost in income for them.