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General News of Thursday, 12 January 2023

Source: www.mynigeria.com

Why we are currently hugely indebted - Ogun govt explains

Ogun governor, Dapo Abiodun Ogun governor, Dapo Abiodun

The Ogun State government has said that the state’s current huge debt is as a result of the rise in the exchange rate of a dollar to a naira.

According to the government, they have also inherited N142 billion debt from the former administration, led by Ibikunle Amosun.

The state's Commissioner for Finance, Dapo Okubadejo presented the breakdown of its 2023 budget to the media on Wednesday, January 11, 2023.

Mr Okubadejo said, “Sometimes we are penny wise and pound foolish. We need to change our mind-set about debt because it is just looking so political.

“When we came in 2019, the debt profile of Ogun State was about N142 billion. The foreign debt component of that was about 121 million dollars.

"Just take that 121 million dollar at N450 today from N220 or N200 in 2019. What it means is that when we quote in the Naira figure today, there is an exchange rate implication on that 121 million dollar debt today.”

Mr Okubadejo made the statement few weeks after the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, blamed the state government of plunging the state into incurable debt.

Mr Adebutu said that the Dapo Abiodun and his administration increased the domestic debt of the state by 55.4 per cent between 2021 and 2022.

The Debt Management office lists Lagos, Ogun and Rivers as the three most indebted states in the country.

BEB