From Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
Following the approval by the Taraba State House of Assembly for the State Governor to take a ₦350B Bond, former Nigerian Envoy to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Alhaji Hassan Jika Ardo has raised alarm that such level of borrowing could mortgage the state finances and cripple the state’s economy.
Alhaji Jika raised the alarm during a phone interview with journalists on Tuesday.
He noted that under barely Two years in office, the governor has already taken loans worth over ₦400bn without any commensurate development to show for it.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Chieftain said that he was appalled that the State Assembly could approve such huge amount to be borrowed without a clear roadmap of how the funds will be used or the modalities of repayment.
“Gentlemen, for some time now, I have observed developments in the state quietly but things seems to be getting out of hand obviously. You are aware that this government has not initiated and completed a single project since its inception about two years ago. All we see is renovations.
“However, information available shows that the State governor has already borrowed over ₦400bn from various commercial banks and there are no tangible things to show for it. This is despite an increase in Federal Allocation which has risen from about N3billion to about N13billion monthly. We are not talking about the increased Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) within the last two years.
“To worsen the situation, the State House of Assembly that should have checkmated the activities of the Governor and his recklessness has gone ahead to approve a whopping ₦350 Billion Bond for the Governor. This is very dangerous for the State where the Governor is already showing clear signs of lack of direction.
“When during the Darius Dickson Ishaku administration I granted an interview to the media accusing him of failure to meet the expectations of the electorates, some stakeholders described me as being economical with the truth. Today, I guess I stand vindicated.
“Today we are witnessing an administration that is worse than Darius Ishaku in Governor Agbu Kefas” Ardo said.
He explained that despite the Billions of Naira the Kefas administration claimes to spend on the Jalingo Abattoir, the facility is yet to be of any benefit to the people.
He observed that a government that preached free education without anything to show after two years, is still deceiving parents that the government would provide free school materials to their wards.
“As far as I am concerned, this government is deceptive and it’s out dupe the people of Taraba just like its predecessor under Darius Ishaku where Billions of Naira is yet be accounted for and he is now a regular guest of the EFCC.
“Let me use this opportunity to call on all relevant authorities and regulatory bodies to save the State from total collapse. I am not opposed to borrowing. It is a key element in governance. However, where monies are borrowed and syphoned without any tangible utilisation, it becomes a problem” he maintained.
Ardo called on all well meaning stakeholders of the state to wake up to their responsibility and defend the interest of Taraba as posterity would judge them for their conspiracy of silence.