Cross River’s Debt Not N400 Billion – Imoke’s Aide

By Our Correspondent

The Cross River State Government has dismissed a newspaper report which puts the state’s total debt profile at N400 Billion as fiction.

The government also described the report which claims the state is the most indebted in the country as misleading and false.

A statement issued in Calabar on Monday and signed by the Special Adviser to Governor Liyel Imoke on Debt Management, Mrs. Francesca Effiom, puts the state’s total debt profile at N123.9 billion.

Of the N123.9 Billion debt, external debts account for N13.5 billion while domestic debts is put at N110 billion.

The statement also disclosed that the state’s current debt profile is one billion Naira less than it was in 2007 when the current administration came into office.

Prior to the advent of the Imoke-led administration, the state’s total debt stock stood at N124,671,114‎,750.14.

Of that figure, external debt stock was N11.482,585,299.93 while domestic debt stock was N113,188,529,450.21.

“Rather than rehash the fiction published by an online platform, all the reporter needed to do to get the correct facts was log onto the website of the Debt Management Office (DMO) in the Presidency,” the statement added.
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The statement further disclosed that the state government, has through the years been meeting it’s debt service obligations without fail, which explains its drastically shrinking debt profile. And it is expected that this should reduce considerably by the next quarter as the government continues the repayment of its debt.

“Despite the lean finances of the state, the government, through its shrewd and prudent management of resources, has provided several first-class infrastructure across the state, among which are: the Institute of Technology and Management (ITM), which is located in Ugep, in Yakurr Council Area, world class Calabar International Convention Center, (CICC), Goodluck Jonathan bypass, over 1,200 kilometers of rural roads, Ikom Township Stadium, 1110 health posts scattered across the 18 local government areas of the state, rural electrification to over 200 communities, provision of potable water to 80 per cent of population and civil servants housing estate of 600 housing units among others.”