Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu has denied taking nor signing any fresh loan, both domestic and foreign, since the inception of his administration on May 29th 2023 till date.
The Governor’s reaction follows the worrisome figures presented on the spreadsheet of the Debt Management Office, DMO, and posted on its website.
The same figure from the DMO is what the Punch Newspaper relied upon, analyzed, and reported on their Sunday, March 31st, 2024 edition.
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Nsa Gill, Governor Otu wondered how the Debt Management Office arrived at 220.2 billion naira as the domestic debt profile of Cross River State as of December 2023, up from 204.04 billion naira posted for the state as of June 30th 2023.
The difference in the figures, subtracting 204 billion naira from 220.2 billion naira, is the purported 16.2 billion naira reported as a fresh domestic loan, allegedly obtained by Governor Bassey Otu’s administration.
The Chief Press Secretary said Governor Otu frowns at the misinformation portraying fresh borrowing, and demands scrutiny of the figures posted by the DMO.
The Governor has directed the Commissioner for Finance in the state to take up the DMO on the figures, and ensure that clear explanations are given on the published figures which are untrue and unacceptable.
Editor : Ena Agbanoma
