The Lagos State Government owes 33.86 per
cent of the country’s total sub-national external debts (debts owed by
state governments), investigation has shown.
Statistics obtained from the website of
the Debt Management Office in Abuja on Wednesday showed that out of the
total external debt of $3.01bn, Lagos State owed $1.02bn, leaving the
remaining 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory with $1.99bn as of
June 30, 2014.
Further analysis shows that out of
Lagos’s $1.02bn external loan commitments, $937.91m was from
multilateral bodies, while $82.5m represented loans contracted from
bilateral sources.
With a series of loan deals, the World
Bank in particular has been involved in the urban renewal programme of
Lagos State as well as efforts to reform the policy environment.
Some of the latest approvals by the World
Bank for the state include $42m loan deal approved by its Board of
Executive Directors in March to support secondary education programme in
the state.
The new International Development
Association credit of $42m to the Lagos EKO Secondary School Project was
an addition to the original credit of $95m; which was said to have
systematically benefited over 620,000 students a year in 667 public
secondary schools in the state between 2009 and 2013.
The school loan was shortly followed by
an approval of $200m to the state to support reforms pertaining to
fiscal sustainability, budget planning, budget execution and the
investment climate.
According to the World Bank, the loan is
the first in two development policy operations and it builds upon the
policy reforms initiated under a previous bank supported programme.
It added that the goal of the programme
was to assist Lagos State in sustaining the strong momentum it had
achieved in improving public services, facilitating inclusive growth and
reducing poverty.
This includes measures to monitor and
manage financial risks more effectively, ensure adequate growth in
revenues, get better value for money in public expenditures, and improve
institutions and processes for land registration and development
permits.
Attempts to speak to the Lagos State
Government officials on the status of its external loans failed as
repeated calls to the Commissioner of Finance, Mr. Ayo Gbeleyi, were not
picked, neither did he respond to text messages sent to his mobile
telephone number.
Similarly, a text message to the state’s
Commissioner of Information, Mr. Lateef Ibirogba, was not responded to.
Calls to his mobile number could not go through.
Other major holders of the country’s
external sub-national debts include Kaduna State, which owes $245.51m,
and Cross Rivers State, $120.21m. Others are Ogun, $116.69m; Bauchi,
$111.61m; and Oyo, $80.11m.
The states least exposed to foreign debts
are Borno, $16.07m; Plateau, $22.99m; Taraba, $24.06m; Delta, $24.7m
and Benue, $28.79m.
However, in comparison to the nation’s
total external indebtedness, the states owe only 32.13 per cent; leaving
the Federal Government with 67.87 per cent of the total $9.38bn.
Loans from the China Export Import Bank
and money raised from the Eurobond accounted for $2.54bn of the Federal
Government’s $6.36bn external debt, while multilateral sources accounted
for $3.82bn.
As of June 2013, the nation’s total
external loan stood at $6.92bn. This means that over a period of one
year, it rose by $2.46bn, indicating a 35.51 per cent increase.
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