The Sokoto State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has raised the alarm over the state’s rising debt profile.
The opposition party spoke against the backdrop of a recent request by the state Governor Aminu Tambuwal’s administration for a fresh loan of about N28.7 billion.
The state APC chairman, Isa Acida, said this in a press conference, in Sokoto, on Sunday.
He described the loan request as an act of wickedness on the part of the governor and his administration to saddle unborn generations with debts that are inexplicable.
Acida said, “We in the APC are seriously disturbed by the recent disclosure that the Sokoto State Government is going to receive another huge loan of N28.7 billion.
“With this development, Sokoto state is set to become the second most indebted state in Nigeria, second only to Lagos.
“We are disbursed by the fact that a state like Sokoto, with an economy that is weak, is further being impoverished with loans that are likely to be squandered on non-profitable ventures.”
In his narration of how the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration has allegedly been mismanaging the state, Acida noted that Sokoto state under the current administration has completely failed because, while other states are celebrating dividends of democracy, the state has nothing to celebrate.
He said, “Even the few capital projects that were half-heartedly started due to pressure by our party have virtually been going at snail speed, while the contractors have since resorted to skeletal services, probably as a result of the government’s insincerity in keeping to the financial terms of the contact.
“Many observers believe that the projects are more intended as a window dressing to impress visitors, while more than 80 per cent of the local governments in the state remain neglected, with no single capital project in their favour.
“Additionally, the quality of work done is seriously defective and of poor quality. Indeed, some of the new roads are worse in quality.
“A number of them have already started to cave in, especially the new dual carriage way near the Federal Science College, Sokoto.”
