Edo blames PDP for state debt profile

Edo State Government on Friday has described the comments by the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic (PDP) on its debt profile released by the Debt Management Office (DMO), as uninformed on how government works.

The DMO figures had ranked Edo State as the third most indebted state in the country in terms of  sub-national foreign debts with a total of $179.52million, with the governorship candidate of the PDP, Pastor Osagie‎ Ize-Iyamu, saying that his position that Edo was one of the most indebted states, has been vindicated.

But in a statement in Benin City on 23rd Friday, the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Kassim Afegbua, noted that: “following the declaration by the Debt Management Office that Edo state’s foreign debt profile ranks third among indebted states in the country, the Peoples Democratic Party that plunged Edo state into huge debts has been upbeat, saying they have been vindicated. How wrong? We do not only find PDP’s assertion ridiculous but utterly uninformed.”
“First, Edo state was categorised as one of the wealthiest states in the country following our holistic reforms in the area of Internally Generated Revenue, which saw a huge improvement in our Internally Generated Revenue portfolio.
“Secondly, we do not borrow funds to pay salaries like PDP state Governors, especially in the South-South geo-political zone. Our loans are tied to specific infrastructural development projects aimed at improving the lives of our people. Unlike in the past during the era of the PDP when loans were sourced and shared amongst party chieftains, the present thinking has altered the ugly narrative of pocketing loans; we have built infrastructure in critical sectors of the Edo economy.
“A critical look at the three top states of Lagos, Kaduna and Edo would readily reveal the huge infrastructural developments in those three states. While it has been difficult for PDP states to attract World Bank loans because of the rigorous screening it entails, PDP states in the South-South have been taking loans from Commercial Banks with neck-breaking interest rates. Our foreign loans attract 1% interest rate with a 10-year moratorium. The representatives of the World Bank are not only proud of Edo state for utilising her loans diligently; they have commended the Comrade Governor at different times for applying probity and accountability in the management of Edo resources.
“Through such fiscal assistance from World Bank, we were able to address the Queen Ede erosion menace, Auchi erosion and the Ekenhuan erosion menaces. We have built infrastructure across the length and breadth of the state and are proud to say that our records of performance would remain indelible in the minds of present and future generations of Edo people.
“We are not like the PDP that took loans during their ten years reign and shared amongst their party chieftains.
They sucked Edo people to the point that it took the intervention of God and man to get the state back on track. We are certainly not reckless financial suckers like the PDP. We are proud to say that we have applied our loans for the purpose they were meant. It will interest PDP chieftains to note that under the Oshiomhole administration, we have repaid billions of naira loans acquired during the inglorious years of the PDP”, the statement said.