We Inherited N117bn As Liabilities – Abubakar

8 years ago

We Inherited N117bn As Liabilities – Abubakar

The governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar has raised an alarm over the N117 billion liabilities inherited from former governor Sule Lamido-led administration as captured in the handover note.

This is even as he regretted that it would take Jigawa seven years to clear the existing liabilities stressing that the ominous task before his administration was to verify, reclassify and restructure the liabilities or face an imminent collapse of the state economy with dire consequences.

In his inaugural speech yesterday in Dutse, governor Abubakar lamented that N5.2 billion ($35.346 million) formed the external debt stock, N92.1 billion as unpaid liabilities to contractors, while N13.3 billion stood as vouchers awaiting payment.

Explaining further he said, “There is the sum of N1.2 billion in unpaid retentions and N1.5 billion in payments outstanding from the previous administration that ended in 2007.

“Another N822 million representing state pension liabilities and N1.2 billion made up of local government and LEA pension liabilities while the latest liability is made up of N2 billion CBN SME and micro credit support facility which appears in our books as a liability but cannot be traced to any of the SME micro credit or community banks that were supposed to be the ultimate beneficiaries.

He recalled that the state budgeted about N99.5 billion for 2015 with an oil price benchmark of $52 as against the 2014 budget of N114.7 billion with an oil price benchmark of $77.5 a barrel.

Abubakar lamented that the State airport which gulped N17 billion was desolate, lifting only nine passengers weekly adding that it was subsidised for almost N47 million monthly inclusive of payment for empty seats on the scheduled flights to and from Abuja.

He added, “Within the same period, the Jigawa Transport Company (JISTA) providing affordable mass transit services to the common man was liquidated and shut down with their whole fleet auctioned off to the detriment of their customer base drawn from the masses.

The governor has however, promised to create a local economy that would emerge as a self-subsistent model leveraging on agriculture, insisting that his administration was in touch with developmental agencies in opening up large scale investment.
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