With Revenue of N66.8bn In 2017, Oyo debt jumps From N47.4bn To N129bn: Makinde Queries Ajimobi
The Oasis Reporters
May 13, 2018
Ajimobi’s final tenure expires May 29, 2019. He’s no longer eligible to run.
Worried by serious allegations bothering on “fiscal recklessness and mis-governance that is taking its toll on the masses of Oyo State”, a People’s Democratic Party governorship aspirant Engr Seyi Makinde has urged the All Progressives Congress government of Oyo state led by Senator Abiola Ajimobi to fulfil his promises to workers and the good people of Oyo state.
In a release signed by the Director of Strategy and Communication, Prince Dotun Oyelade, Seyi Makinde found it sad that “there is no ‘cause celebrè, no cheer in the pacesetter state”. Yet he urged workers in the south west premier state to hang on to hope, as “the new dawn is around the corner not only for the workers and retirees but also the entire good people of the state”.
“There is a deliberate and unholy silence by the state government over several disconcerting issues”, he pondered, then strongly appealed and challenged leaders of thought including the labour movement and civil societies to rise above partisan politics and in one voice, ask the present administration to respond publicly to the following questions that have been raised at various times in the public domain in the past six weeks and to which government has been uncharacteristically silent;
1. The present administration borrowed N4.8bn in 2011, N11.7bn in 2012, N19.1bn in 2013, N12.9 in 2014, why did the debt profile jump to N47.4bn in 2015? (Public Finance Statistics, Statistical Bulletin, Central Bank of Nigeria, 2016).
2. More dramatically, in spite of FAAC allocation of N44.4bn in 2017 and an IGR of N22.4bn in the same year, why did our debt profile frog jump from N47.4bn two years ago to a spiraling N129bn, quoting figures from the Internally Generated Revenue at State Level Report published by the National Bureau of Statistics, March, 2018.
Indeed and to be more precise, ($93,218,640 million) N28.492bn multilateral debt added to the N129.2bn domestic debt makes a total of N157.7bn that hangs on our neck like an albatross in a debt burden yet unsurpassed in the annals of Oyo state since inception in 1976.
And for a fact, this represents over 232.7%% increase or N110.3bn over and above the 2015 debt! This government since inauguration in 2011 has borrowed well over N157.7 billion.
What does Oyo state have to justify this humongous debt as published by credible and accredited custodian of statistics in Nigeria.
3. If Oyo state has this awesome war chest why are the over 10,000 retired primary school teachers owed N27bn over the past 17 to 56 months and left to rot while the fate of serving teachers are not any better?
4. Why are there such dislocations in schools infrastructures, in the quality of education and general motivation and well being of teachers and staff at the secondary school level also?
Why are primary schools teachers still being owed backlog of salaries and allowances.
This saddens the heart because primary schools serve as the foundation and fulcrum for educational development of our children.
Where is the future? Oyo state should not be allowed to be a fertile land for the growth of hopeless youth with bleak future”, he further said.
