Premium News
IMO STATE REELS UNDER DEBT: OWES N43B TO CONTRACTORS, N163B DOMESTIC BORROWING, N70B TO CBN
Imo State Reels Under Debts As Governor Uzodimma Owes N43billion To Contractors Amid N163billion Domestic Borrowing
The state also owes the CBN N70.8 billion from the differentiated cash reserve ratio it got.
Areview of the audited financial statements of Imo State, has shown that the Governor Hope Uzodimma-led government owes its contractors N43billion and the Central Bank of Nigeria the sum of N89billion as of the end of 2023.
The report also shows that Imo State under Governor Uzodimma owes the apex bank the sum of N17.2billion from the budget support granted to it by the Central Bank; the state also owes another sum of N66 million from the MSME development fund it got from the CBN.
Another sum of N1.6 billion is owed by the state from the CBN Covid-19 health intervention fund it received from the apex bank.
The state also owes the CBN N70.8 billion from the differentiated cash reserve ratio it got.
The funds are listed against banks such as Fidelity Bank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank and Union Bank.
Further review by SaharaReporters shows that the state owes another sum of N43.4 billion to contractors as of the end year 2023.
In November 2021, it was announced that the Central Bank of Nigeria was giving each state of the federation a fresh sum of N18.2billion as budget support facility.
This came after the apex bank in April 2021 demanded payback of budget support loans granted states between 2015 and 2016.
Nigerian states up till now have been struggling with their activities relying on the funding from the federally distributed revenue and heap of loans.
The loans usually lead to high debt servicing figures which experts say have a negative impact on developmental needs of states.
Already, Imo State has a high debt portfolio, owing $74 million externally as of June 2024 and another N163 billion domestically as of March 2024.
