Idris Wada has concluded plans to vacate the gubernatorial seat in Kogi state as he prepares to officially hand-over to the governor-elect, Yahaya Bello.
Idris Wada
The Kogi State governor, Capt Idris Wada, on Thursday, said his administration would be leaving behind a N44.46 billion domestic debt in the state.
Apart from this, the governor said he inherited N38.38 billion as debt when he assumed office on January 27, 2012.
Wada, who said this while giving an overview of his administration at the Government House, Lokoja, the state capital, however, said over 42 per cent of the debt totalling over N18 billion was outstanding gratuities to retirees that had accumulated since the creation of the state in 1991.
According to him, N5.5 billion was outstanding payment from the N8 billion drawn from the infrastructure bond approved for the state, adding that N2.9 billion was being owed commercial bank.
The governor also said the debt profile included N7.7 billion being salary owed workers of the state for the months of October to December 2015, while the state also had $35.7 million as long-term external debt.
He, however, said he had used the last four years to lay a solid foundation for the socio-economic development of the state with the belief that the incoming government would build on it.
Wada explained that despite the paucity of funds available to his government, he was able to put in place programmes and projects that that would contribute to the development of the state.
He also said government had in the last four years laid foundation for the industrial development of the state, while it encouraged no fewer than 100 private investors to establish in the state.