FOREIGN LOANS: Abba, Ganduje disagree on Kano debt portfolio
Kano State government has refuted media reports that it took new foreign debts, especially a N177 billion loan from a French bank.
This has prompted an exchange between Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and former Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
Governor Yusuf’s administration firmly denied these allegations.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Dr. Hamisu Sadi Ali, the Director General of the Kano State Public Debt Management Office, stated that since taking office in May 2023, there have been no new loans contracted by the current government. He emphasized that all debts currently being managed are inherited from the previous administration led by Ganduje.
Dr. Ali clarified that the specific debt referenced in media reports originates from a €64 million loan agreement signed in July 2018 under Ganduje’s leadership as part of the Third National Urban Water Sector Reform Project. To date, only €13 million of this loan has been disbursed.
READ ALSO: Shekarau’s group rejects Nigeria’s return parliamentary system, demands reforms to current status
He claimed that in an effort to manage and reduce state liabilities, Governor Yusuf’s administration has focused on repaying outstanding debts. As of 2024, it was reported that over N63.5 billion had been repaid, which significantly reduced Kano State’s total debt to approximately N127.8 billion.
Dr. Ali further detailed that Kano’s debt profile includes older foreign loans for various projects dating back to as early as 1992, alongside substantial domestic loans acquired during previous administrations.
“There is no record of any new borrowing by this administration,” Dr. Ali claimed, adding that, “The debt we are handling today is entirely inherited from the former government.”
Response from Ganduje’s camp
In response to these claims, representatives from the All Progressives Congress (APC), including former commissioner Muhammad Garba, dismissed the assertions made by Governor Yusuf’s administration as misleading and politically motivated.
They argued that while it is true that debts were incurred during Ganduje’s tenure, not all debts listed by the Debt Management Office were solely his responsibility.
Garba highlighted that many loans listed were secured long before Ganduje took office and criticized the current government for attempting to shift blame regarding financial mismanagement onto his administration.
Garba observed that the current debt portfolios of Kano state from foreign loans listed by the DMO were secured in 1992, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2015 and 2018.
He added that these loans included the Multi-state Road Project 11/11/1992 XDR 26,212,376.50; Malaria Control Booster Project 10/10/2007 XDR 11,550,000; State Education Sector Project 6/11/2008 XDR 9,991,875; Third National Fadama Project 16/07/2009 XDR 4,818,310.00 and Health System Development Project II 08/04/2009 XDR 2,313,697.80.
He also listed other loans secured not during the Ganduje administration that included Commercial Agriculture Development Project 16/07/2009 XDR 17,670,000.00; Malaria Control Booster Project (Additional F.) 21/06/2010 XDR 5,927,445.10; Erosion and Watershed Management Project N/A USD 5,000,000.00.
