Re: Tata’s ‘Gombe State N110 Bn Debt’, And The Deceptive Sophistry In A Political Hatchet Job
The Oasis Reporters
May 20, 2019
If one were not careful in perusing and decoding the sophistry embedded in a write up crafted with mumble jumble statistics and outright deception by Abubakar Inuwa Tata, it could so easily suck one into believing, without knowing that a political hatchet job had just been executed and pushed onto the populace for a predetermined purpose.
Road construction.
For someone who claims to be a keen observer of Gombe State fiscal operations, he says that “the provisional and conservative estimate of debt figure of N110 billion provided by the Transition Committee of the Governor-Elect may be an underestimation of the real debt burden of the state if accrual accounting principle is applied in the compilation of the total debt stock as stipulated by International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and which was adopted by Gombe State Government in 2014. The figure may also overshoot the N110.0 billion if other autonomous MDAs borrowing on their own accounts are consolidated into the total debt profile of the state. Until after handover and forensic audit of the state finances, no one can tell you the exact debt burden of the state”.
The claim to be a “keen observer of Gombe State fiscal operations falls flat on its face because there’s no way such an “observer” would have failed to notice that Gombe state did not adopt IPSAS accrual as the writer pointed out, but rather, takes to perfecting IPSAS cash!
Therefore isn’t the claim an empty one?
Now, where did Mr. Abubakar Inuwa Tata get his laughable voodoo facts from when as a matter of policy, no autonomous MDA has the authority to borrow at all ? GMSG debt service is still 16.3% of our average FAAC allocation as against FG’s 62.2%. The concessionary loan referred to, in the FRL 2012 is for external borrowing, as the reasons for the FRA was essentially a condition for exit from the Paris club as well as the London club, in order to ensure that FG did not borrow the way it did with the said clubs, no organisation will lend at 3%. Even the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and the Federal government lends at 9%. No organisation apart from multilateral and bilateral lend on concessions. Banks are a profit making organisation.
Looking at the facts or data presented through the prism of behavioral economics when it relates to the acts of the economist with a political halo around his head, it becomes pertinent to look critically at the motivations of the writer and what drives his analytical processes. His stated facts need interrogation.
At this juncture, it is pertinent to understand who this wrIter is and where he is coming from as a way of putting into proper context, his motivations.
Sources say the writer is, or was working with the Central Bank of Nigeria. If what the sources say turn out to be true, then it falls into the dubious distinction of men in such privileged position, using their access to privileged data and manipulating them to make what is obviously incorrect, look like it is near the truth, whereas the reality is as far as the Atlantic Ocean is to the Sahara desert.
We may recall the saga of a phantom
$49.8 Billion that was said not to have been remitted by the NNPC to the federation account, in a frenzied election season as published by The Citizen on Dec 18, 2013. In the following year, the figure had been adjusted to $10.8 billion and soon afterwards was jacked up to $20 billion before the moving target of figures were discovered to be wonder wonder abracadabra figures aimed at the political downfall of then president Goodluck Jonathan.
And it all came from the CBN!
That controversy did incalculable damage to the government, whereas it was not true at all!
As if playing the same moving target of figures, another supposed CBN staff has come out with his own version of the soap opera.
First Mr. Tata says that Gombe State under Governor Dankwambo has thrown the State into debt to the tune of 110 billion naira, and that it could be higher.
Whereas in his Facebook page, barely three months ago, Abubakar Inuwa Tata had written thus:
“GOMBE STATE IS IN FINANCIAL MESS – WHO CAN BAIL-OUT THE STATE
Despite significant inflow of resources to Gombe State Government after the global financial crisis that hit Danjuma Goje led administration between 2008-2009, the Dankwambo led administration embarked on pro-cyclical fiscal policy, borrowing huge amount when they are suppose(d) to save for rainy days.
This fiscal indiscipline plunged the state into a debt trap that saw (a) staggering and historic debt file up to the tune of over N60.01 billion from mere N8.84 billion in 2010”.
Let us pause here to query his facts. Is Abubakar Inuwa Tata claiming that the Dankwambo government borrowed 51.17 billion naira between 2010 and 2019, then in the last three months, added a whopping 58.83 billion naira to the debt stock to give him a grand total of 110 billion naira?
Can he state where this fantastic amount was borrowed from and which bank would lend it to a departing government?
Let’s proceed with his own write up to further demystify his objectives :
“This incurrence of liabilities has led to significant increase in liabilities over assets of the state to the tune of N69.16 billion in 2016.
One would have expected to see what this liabilities financed in terms of economic and social values in our economic, education, health, water supply and sanitations sub-sectors but interventions in these sectors were not commensurate to the liabilities incurred.
The administration has less than 3 months to exit and it is clear that this administration lack the capacity to fix this problem despite numerous bail-out from the FGN (Paris club refund, Salaries and Pension bail-out, etc).
If Dankwambo cannot fix this mess, do you think his annointed flag bearer can fix it?
Gombawa, let us get the man that can do this job and do it better.
Vote wisely!!!”
He published this on his Facebook page on the 2nd of March, 2019.
Isn’t it obvious that this economist is actually a politician, using mumbled figures that cannot stand for political mudslinging?
All the same, can he boldly come to stand on a figure that is the actual debt profile of Gombe State?
He has been seen quoting some more outlandish figures in the social media that would be boring to read as all his figures continue to act the moving target script, without stating his sources that it would be best to ignore.
One thing is certain, even though he is believed to be a civil servant working with CBN, he was seen participating in politics especially in Gombe where he comes from, campaigning for APC and Inuwa Yahaya throughout. Well, his party, the APC won. If his false sledging against Dr. Hassan Dankwambo would give him the finance commissioner’s portfolio, we can only wish him utmost luck.
Written by Umar Salisu in Gombe
