Headline
22 States Spent N251bn On Debt Servicing In Nine Months – Report

Twenty-two states have spent a total sum of N251.79bn to service debt borrowed by past administrations within nine months of assuming office, according to The PUNCH.
It was also gathered that the states obtained fresh loans of N310.99bn between July 2023 and March 2024, despite increased monetary allocations from the Federation account.
The information was obtained from the budget implementation reports of each state sourced from the Open Nigerian States, a budgIT-backed website that serves as a repository of government budget data. BudgIT is a Nigerian civic organisation promoting transparency.
The performance report is prepared quarterly and issued within four weeks from the end of each quarter. It includes the original approved budget and revised/final budget appropriation for the year 2023 against each organisational unit for each of the core economic classifications of expenditures (personnel, overheads, capital, and others). It also includes the actual expenditures for the quarter Q3, attributed to each organisational unit, as well as the cumulative expenditures for the year to date, and balances against each of the revenue and expenditure appropriations.
An analysis by The PUNCH showed that the states include Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Niger, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba and Zamfara.
Further analysis of the report indicated that the states faced an uphill task of stimulating the economies of their respective states after they inherited at least N2.1tn in domestic debts and $1.9bn in external debts from their predecessors.
Investigations also showed that the states were confronted with many months of unpaid workers’ salaries and mounting pension liabilities amidst agitation for the implementation of the nationally agreed minimum wage, rising inflation, escalating prices of goods and services, and dwindling purchasing power.
In Abia State, Dr Alex Otti, who emerged as the only governor on the platform of the Labour Party inherited a total domestic debt of N104,573,334,025.73, and an external debt of $95,632,239.04.
While Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, got N143,368,150,982.89 in domestic debt, and $30,472,977.14 obligations to foreign creditors.
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The Governor of Cross River State, Bassey Otu, carried the burden of N175,198,799,155.96 and $215,754,975.33 in domestic and foreign debts.
Also, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, met a domestic debt of N219,617,660,991.63 and $46,569,647.22 in external debt among others.
Recall that following the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange markets, there was a notable increase in states’ earnings from the Federation Account Allocation Committee, reaching a total of N3.34tn in the post-fuel subsidy era.
With the improved earnings, states had the freedom to settle outstanding loans acquired by the previous administration, particularly during the third and fourth quarters of 2023. This financial enhancement provided the states with the opportunity to address fiscal obligations, and alleviate financial burdens inherited from previous administrations.
Experts have, however, attributed the significant increase in debt servicing cost partly to the devaluation of the naira, which drove up the cost of servicing foreign debt obligations as the CBN grappled with the forex liquidity crisis and exchange rate volatility.
A breakdown of the implementation report showed that the states spent N75.47bn to service domestic and external loans in the third quarter of 2023. This increased by 5.12 per cent or 3.87bn to N79.34bn in the fourth quarter, and N96.99bn in the first quarter of 2024 (January – March).
According to the report, Abia state disbursed N2.62bn to service inherited debts, while Akwa-Ibom spent N21.96bn in nine months on debt servicing. Anambra spent N5.12bn, Cross River spent N13.82bn, and Delta State spent N30.31bn to service loans obtained by former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
Ebonyi State under the leadership of Francis Nwifuru has spent N7.50bn on servicing loans obtained by past administrations, while the Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, approved a sum of N9.88bn for repaying debts.
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Other states including Jigawa spent N4.34bn, Kebbi (N1.98bn), Kogi (7.29bn), Niger (N3.66bn), Ondo (N11.35bn), Osun (N14.76bn), Plateau (N51.39bn), Rivers (N4.12bn), Sokoto (N4.04bn), Taraba (N9.49bn), Zamfara (N3.1bn) and Kaduna (N16.04bn).
Despite this heavy debt servicing burden, the report indicated that the state governments had continued to obtain more loans to take care of different expenditures.
Further analysis showed that the states obtained credit facilities totalling N310.99bn within the review period, despite heavy financial allocations from the federal government.
The report revealed that states, in 2023, got the highest Federal Account Allocation Committee allocations in at least seven years with N627.73bn obtained in September, followed by N610.5bn in December, N555.75bn in August, N533bn in November, N514bn in July, and N497.97bn in October.
Findings also revealed that the majority of these loans were sourced from international creditors, contrary to the Federal Government’s emphasis on borrowing from the domestic market.
The PUNCH had earlier reported that 13 new state governors collectively borrowed N226.8bn from domestic and external financiers in the first six months after taking office.
Further analysis showed that Katsina State was among the states that got the highest loan of N20.14bn between January and March. It was followed by Ondo State with N18.33bn loans. Third on the list is Niger State with loans worth N16.19bn.
Kogi State also obtained loans worth N11.33bn from creditors within the quarter.
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Other states including Zamfara got N6.23bn, Ekiti (N5.65bn), Abia (N3.37bn), Kaduna (N2.27bn), Ebonyi (N173.36m), Osun (N174.24m), Plateau (N322.12m) and Taraba (N6.23bn).
In April, The PUNCH reported that most of the FAAC funds for Osun, Ondo, Kaduna, and Cross River states will be used in servicing debts this year.
This is because these states currently have a deficit of N10.94bn, N27.72bn, N15.83bn, and N10.02bn respectively, following debt servicing deductions by FAAC.
The states, as indicated in their 2024 budget may have to rely on Internally Generated Revenue or borrow from domestic/external sources to finance payment or possibly seek alternative solutions to settle their civic obligations to their workers throughout this year.
A further breakdown of the data revealed that Lagos, Akwa-Ibom, Delta, Ogun, Zamfara, Plateau, and Sokoto will be the highest debt-paying sub-nationals.
Commenting on the issue, economist, Paul Alaje, said debt servicing and loans were burdens that could limit economic development at the sub-national level.
Paul, speaking in an earlier interview, stated that the huge debts left by past administrations was inimical to growth, and added that loans collected by state governments and the projects the governors spent the money on should be properly investigated.
He said, “Debts are like a burden, especially when the money collected is not spent on capital expenditure or projects that can create revenue for the government in the future. In Osun State, for instance, Gboyega Oyetola’s administration took over a huge debt profile from his predecessor, Rauf Aregbesola, and when Aregbesola left, Oyetola started struggling not to borrow more money. Few new governors can borrow more, because lenders will also consider their ability to pay.”
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Efforts made to get the reaction of the Director General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Abdulateef Shittu, were unsuccessful. He declined to comment when The PUNCH reached him on the issue, stating that the situation could only be well analysed by the Debt Management Office.
Debt repayment part of governance – Sokoto govt
Efforts to get the reaction of the Sokoto State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Sambo Danchadi, were not successful, as his number was not available at the time of filing this report.
However, a top government official in the state who spoke on condition of anonymity said debt servicing was part of the government’s work, adding that it was difficult to ascertain if all the debts were from the immediate past administration.
He said, “Some of these debts we are talking about were owed during the days of the old Sokoto State, comprising of Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara.
“The unfortunate thing is that the immediate past government did not hand over any document whatsoever to the incumbent administration to ascertain many things,” he added.
Debt servicing not affecting Ondo
However, the Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, admitted that the state government had been servicing debt incurred by the past administrations in the state without problem.
The governor, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, said his administration had not borrowed any money since it came on board.
However, the governor noted that the debt had not made any negative impact on the state’s economy, saying the government was running smoothly.
He said, “Servicing debt is a responsibility of the government, and this administration is not defaulting on repaying those debts.
“However, the Aiyedatiwa administration has not incurred any debt since it assumed office. Also, debt servicing did not have much impact on the state’s economy. The repayment was captured in the budget. So, it was prepared for.”
PUNCH
Headline
UK Police Arrest Asylum Seeker Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed

The UK police on Sunday arrested an Ethiopian asylum seeker and convicted sex offender, whose crimes had sparked anti-immigration protests, after he was accidentally released from prison in an embarrassing blunder by British authorities.
London’s Metropolitan Police said officers arrested Hadush Kebatu in the north of the capital on Sunday morning, nearly 48 hours after he was mistakenly freed around 30 miles (48 kilometres) away.
Kebatu, 38, had served the first month of a one-year sentence for sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a woman, but was reportedly due to be deported when the Prison Service error occurred on Friday.
His high-profile case earlier this year in Epping, northeast of London, sparked demonstrations in various English towns and cities where asylum seekers were believed to be housed, as well as counter-protests.
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Commander James Conway, who oversaw the manhunt for him, said “information from the public” led officers to the Finsbury Park neighbourhood of London, where he was found.
“He was detained by police but will be returned to the custody of the Prison Service,” he added.
Kebatu is now expected to be deported.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday he was “appalled” by the “totally unacceptable” mistake that saw him freed rather than sent to an immigration detention centre.
The Telegraph newspaper said he was wrongly categorised for release on licence and handed a £76 ($101) discharge grant.
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Police had appealed Saturday for Kebatu to turn himself in, after reports emerged that he had appeared confused and reluctant to leave the prison in Chelmsford, eastern England.
A delivery driver described seeing Kebatu return several times in a “very confused” state, only to be turned away by staff and directed to the railway station.
The driver told Sky News he saw Kebatu outside the jail, asking, “Where am I going? What am I doing?”
“He was starting to get upset, he was getting stressed,” the driver said.
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The father of Kebatu’s anonymous teenage victim told the broadcaster that “the justice system has let us down.”
Police arrested the asylum seeker in July after he repeatedly tried to kiss a 14-year-old girl and touch her legs, and made sexually explicit comments to her.
He also sexually assaulted an adult woman, placing a hand on her thigh, when she intervened to stop his interactions with the girl.
He was staying at the time at Epping’s Bell Hotel, where scores of other asylum seekers have been accommodated, and which became the target of repeated protests.
AFP
Headline
Madagascar Revokes Ousted President’s Nationality

Madagascar’s new government has stripped ousted president Andry Rajoelina of his Malagasy nationality in a decree published Friday, 10 days after he was removed in a military takeover.
According to AFP, the decree means that Rajoelina, who was impeached on October 14 after fleeing the island nation in the wake of weeks of protests, would not be able to contest future election.
The decree published in the official gazette said Rajoelina’s Malagasy nationality was revoked because he had acquired French nationality in 2014, local media reported, as photographs of the document were shared online.
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French broadcaster RFI said it had confirmed the decree with the entourage of the new prime minister, Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo, who signed the order.
The decree cited laws stipulating that a Malagasy who voluntarily acquires a foreign nationality loses their Malagasy nationality.
Rajoelina’s French nationality caused a scandal when it was revealed ahead of the November 2023 elections, nearly 10 years after it was granted.
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It triggered calls for him to be disqualified but he went on to win the contested polls, which were boycotted by opposition parties.
The 51-year-old politician fled Madagascar after army Colonel Michael Randrianirina said on October 11 his CAPSAT unit would refuse orders to put down the youth-led protest movement, which security forces had attempted to suppress with violence.
Rajoelina said later he was in hiding for his safety, but did not say where.
Randrianirina was sworn in as president on October 14, pledging elections within two years.
Headline
Kamala Harris Hints At Running For President Again

Former US vice president Kamala Harris said in a British television interview previewed in Saturday that she may “possibly” run again to be president.
Harris, who replaced Joe Biden as the 2024 Democratic presidential candidate but lost to Donald Trump, told the BBC that she had not yet decided whether to make another White House bid.
But the 61-year-old insisted she was “not done” in American politics and that her young grandnieces would see a female president in the Oval Office “in their lifetime, for sure”.
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“I have lived my entire career a life of service, and it’s in my bones, and there are many ways to serve.
“I’ve not decided yet what I will do in the future, beyond what I am doing right now,” Harris told the British broadcaster in an interview set to air in full on Sunday.
The comments are the strongest hint yet that Harris could attempt to be the Democratic Party nominee for the 2028 election.
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The interview follows the release of her memoir last month, in which she argued it had been “recklessness” to let Biden run for a second term as president.
She also accused his White House team of failing to support her while she was his deputy, and at times of actively hindering her.
AFP
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