Julius Anelu, the Edo State Accountant-General, disclosed the state government’s internal debt profile as of November 11, 2024, and estimated it to be more than N1 trillion.
The Accountant-General, who made the revelation during a meeting with members of the Edo State Assets Verification Committee, also reported that the state’s external debt was N282 billion.
Anelu said the increase in the debt profile was occasioned by the depreciation of the value of the naira, saying at the time the loans were taken, the value of the naira was not as low as it is today.
The Accountant-General told the committee that his office had written to all the banks in the state that had transactions with the state government to furnish his office with their statements of accounts to present to the committee.
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He also told the committee that through investigations, they would discover that most of the loans were channelled directly to the agencies for which they were secured.
He promised to furnish the committee with all necessary and vital documents to make the job less cumbersome.
On the mode and method of contract executions and payments, the accountant-general told the committee that most of the payments were made through the commercial banks that served as sureties for the contractors and financed their projects.
He also disclosed that the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, would appear before the committee to explain the budget implementation and performance since 2017.
Anelu assured the committee of his willingness to comply with its demand by making available all relevant documents, including payment vouchers, in respect of all transactions carried out by his office.
According to him, as a civil servant, I have no reason to disobey the committee; it is my duty to let the committee know all financial transactions of the state during the period under my purview as the Accountant-General of the state.
“Some of the transactions were also done through the office of the Secretary to the State Government. However, all payments passed through my office.
“Immediately after I received the committee’s invitation, I informed all departments involved in financial transactions to get their documents ready for the committee.
“I assured the committee of my office support and cooperation to avail it ready with all the necessary information about the assets, liabilities, and financial transactions carried out through my office as the Accounts General of the state,” he said.
He, however, advised the committee to constitute a subcommittee to cover the areas that the main committee might feel not necessary to check or look at.
He opined that the subcommittee would also reduce the workload of the main committee as well as fast-track or increase the speed of the committee.
