Ekiti moves on despite debt burden
The Ekiti State governor is not daunted by the N40 billion debt
profile left behind by the ousted administration of Segun Oni, the Deputy
governor of the state, Funmi Olayinka said yesterday in Ado Ekiti.
Mrs Olayinka, who disclosed this at a press conference to mark
the 100 days of the Fayemi led administration in the state, said the debt
profile has made the state government more creative and determined to tackle
the challenges confronting the people of the state. She noted that the
government is desperately fashioning a way of building up its Internally
Generated Revenue to supplement the low federal allocation into the state,
stating that the state will soon recover from the debt burden through the
holistic approach being employed by the government.
She added that the state is now partnering with the British
Department for International Development (DFID), which she said is now on
ground for feasibility studies on how to develop the state.
“Though, as much as we are not comfortable with the N40 billion
debt , this government will not be weighed down,” she said. “We are taking
initiative on how to develop the state by increasing its IGR, which is a strong
criterion in allocation formula and we are partnering with international
agencies on how to save the state from perennial poverty.”
Reviewing contracts
She said a contract review committee has been set up by the
state government to review contracts awarded by the last administration,
assuring that some contractors would be compelled to refund some money into the
state’s coffers, having allegedly been mobilised more than the level of work
done. The deputy governor said the committee was set up following the
‘outrageous’ N27 billion debt burden incurred by the immediate past
administration on contracts.
Mrs Olayinka said the state Governor, Kayode Fayemi has, in his short time
in office, put smiles on the faces of the people through the payment of N750
million backlog of pension arrears to retirees, as well as N120 million to
former political office holders.
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