Kano State Debt Management Office has disclosed that it settled external debts of N63,508,024,580.03 borrowed by previous administration of former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.
Dr Hamisu Sadi-Ali, Director General of the Debt Management Office, made the disclosure at a press conference in Kano on Tuesday, in reaction to a story published by an online newspaper which claimed that the state government had taken the loan of N177 billion from France to fund water project.
According to Mr Sadi-Ali, the report is false as the current government had paid N3,491,137,226.73 as external loan and domestic loans of N60,016,887,353.57 in first and second quarter of 2024.
He explained that the online newspaper was referring to a subsidiary loan agreement, signed by Mr Ganduje’s government for the Third National Urban Water Sector Reform Project of about €64 million with French Development Agency in July 2018.
Mr Sadi-Ali insisted that though the Kano State Public Debt Management Law 2021 clearly states that, the office shall “subject to the provision of the act, borrow on behalf of the government, from any individual or institutional bodies, the current administration had never entered into loan agreement with the French government since its inception in 2023″.
“Our attention has been drawn by a malicious publication by online Newspaper,
DCL HAUSA which falsely claimed that, Kano State Government under the leadership of Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf had received the sum of N177billion as a loan from France.
”It is pertinent to note that whenever government intends to borrow internally or otherwise from individuals or institutions it has to be through the State’s Public Debt Management Office.
“Let me clearly restate this, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje’s led APC administration signed a subsidiary loan agreement for the Third National Urban Water Sector Reform Project of about 64 Million Euros with French Development Agency in July 2018.
“Unfortunately, this is the loan the said DCL Hausa claimed that it was contracted during the current administration, I wonder how 2018 become 2023 or 2024?,” he said.
“It is important and worthy to note that, in his efforts to reduce the debt burden of our dear State, His Excellency the Executive Governor of Kano State Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf had paid an external debts of about N3,491,137,226.73 and
domestic debts of N60,016,887,353.57 totaling N63,508,024,580.03 for just first
and second quarter of 2024.
“With this development, our overall debts outstanding was drastically reduced to N127,793,608,048.62 for both domestic and foreign liabilities,” the DG disclosed.
He, therefore, appealed to the general public to ignore what he described as fake, malicious and politically motivated news story.
“Journalism should be a deeply investigative venture and not a mere non-factual fabricated report like what DCL Hausa expertise on,” the DG lamented.
