Taraba Refutes over N200bn Indebtedness

Wole Ayodele in Jalingo

Taraba State Government has debunked insinuations that the administration of Governor Darius Ishaku has plunged the state into indebtedness of over N200 billion.

Fielding questions from journalists during a media briefing on the 2023 approved budget, the state Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Solomon Elisha, noted that the figures being bandied about is a figment of the imagination of the opposition elements in the state.

According to him “I don’t know where they got their figures but what I can tell you is that the state is not owing over N200billion as its being speculated.

“Though I cannot claim that the state is not indebted, because the government and debt are synonymous, but this administration has ensured that it does not incur loans unnecessarily and that it must be in the best interest of the state.”

However, despite much pressure on the commissioner to disclose the exact amount the state owes, he declined from doing so as he told journalists that he would do so at a later date.

Nonetheless, he stressed that the government would not hesitate to obtain loan to execute laudable projects that would impact the lives of the people of the state positively.

According to him, “The Ishaku administration would continue to borrow to meet the yearnings and aspirations of the people of the state. The government and loans are inseparable.”

Giving a breakdown of the approved 2023 budget, Elisha maintained that the estimates are based on some macroeconomic assumptions among which is the International oil price benchmark of $70.00 per barrel.

Other assumptions, according to him, are oil production quotas of 1.69 million barrels per day and an exchange rate of N435.57 to a dollar as well a National Inflation rate of 17.16 percent and GDP growth of 3.75 percent.”

Part of the objective of the 2023 budget, according to him, is to step up revenue generation drive and reduce dependency on the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).