The newly inaugurated Governor of Anambra state, Professor Chukwuma Soludo in an interview with Arise News has stated that he inherited debt to the tune of N109 billion from the previous administration.
While speaking during the interview, the Governor was asked about the funds available to his administration, he started by saying that the audited statement of the state was published on the 31st of December and so is a matter of public record.
Then he went ahead to state that the cash available for the state was about N300 million to N400 million, while the state has a debt of N109 billion. He said however that the fund is the baseline as they would need to look into other contingencies, contractor debts, draw the line and then move on.
What Soludo is saying
- The amount in debt for the state means that the new administration is kickstarting its operations with very little capital and an overwhelming debt profile. Whether or not this would affect the execution of the plans of the new governor is up for debate.
- The new governor made it clear in the interview that his administration would, first of all, maximize the existing opportunities in the state and that they would be very transparent in their financial dealings and make every government transaction a matter of public record.
- About the incident that occurred at his inauguration, between the wife of his predecessor and the former ambassador of Nigeria to Spain, the Governor stated, “It’s not a distraction. It was meant to be, but has no impact on my work in office.”
- The Governor however still maintained that his predecessor is an honourable man, stating that he loves Nigeria.
The newly inaugurated Governor is proving himself to be a transparent leader, granting audience to the media and actively engaging his audience on social media platforms.
On the day of the inauguration, he posted an acceptance speech on his Twitter page, a part of which read, “I pledge here again to devote every kobo of your tax money to work for you. This is your government. I am only your employee. I commit to a transparent, accountable, judicious, and impactful use of your tax money.”
The former administration was led by Dr Willie Obiano who tried to exit the country on the day of his handover but was apprehended by the EFCC at the airport on various claims of embezzlement and fraud and was just granted bail today.