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From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
A nongovernmental organisation, Aid Foundation in conjunction with Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has expressed worry over whooping debt profile in the States in North West, amounting to N1.2 trillion.
To this end, the organisations have stepped up campaign in order to recover money for development in the seven states that make up the zone.
Addressing a news conference at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Monday, Executive Director, Aid Foundation, Emmanuel Bonet, listed the seven states as Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, and Jigawa states.
According to him, representatives of government, civil society, the media, and professional bodies from each of the seven states of the Northwest had sometimes ago converged in Kaduna to validate their respective debt profiles.
He said in that meeting the total debt profile in the zone stands at N1.2 trillion, adding that the figure was of great concern to stakeholders when compared with the people’s expectations in terms of development.
“It is no longer news that AID Foundation launched a debt justice campaign on the 11th of December 2023 where representatives of Government, Civil Society, Media and Professional Bodies from each of the seven States of the Northwest converged in Kaduna to validate their respective debt profile.
“The total debt profile of the zone which stands at N1.2 trillion appeared to be a concern for especially when compared with the people’s expectation of related development, hence the need for AID Foundation in partnership with CISLAC and support from Christian AID is facilitating avenue that will keep the discussion in the front burner so that more citizens are informed of who, where, when, and for what debt are collected as well as give them the opportunity to air their views on the subject matter.
“To this end, we are launching a competition that is aimed at eliciting the views of residents of Kebbi Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, and Kaduna states on the diverse ways in which they think that their state governments can source funds that will be used for development.
“A token sum of seven hundred thousand naira (N700,000) to be contested for by residents of Northwest Nigeria has been earmarked.
“Each contestant will either record a video or audio of not more than 2 minutes or write an essay of not more than 200 words outlining their suggestions of what they think their various state governments should do to generate additional sources of revenue that can be used for the development of their states.
“The competition is open to all ages 18 and older, and they should be residents of the state they are providing solutions for.
Fourteen judges have been selected from tertiary and professional institutions across the zone, and criteria such as adherence to the rules of time, words, and hashtags, as well as the quality of input or suggestions, etc., will be used in selecting winners.
“We believe that for us to move progressively as a nation, our governments should explore other sources of funding while improving in the areas of inclusion, transparency, accountability, and public finance management.
“We therefore call on everyone to join the discussions that have now moved online as well as participate in the radio programmes currently ongoing in the zone”. He stated.
