N382bn Debt I Inherited From Imoke Frustrating My Development Plan– Ayade

The Governor of Cross River State Ben Ayade has said that his administration’s stride to build infrastructure in the state is being frustrated by the debt left behind by his predecessor, Liyel Imoke.

Ayade who has faced severe criticisms revealed he inherited a debt of N382bn from Imoke.

The governor made the disclosure in an interview on Arise TV which was monitored by THE WHISTLER.

The state received N2.75bn in February 2021 and N2.74bn after statutory deductions, according to Federation Account Allocation Committee disbursement data.

But Ayade said that the state receives N1.8bn monthly after debt and other deductions to manage the state.

Recall that the governor had in 2015 dismissed reports that he inherited a highly indebted state with an empty treasury.

“I did not meet an empty treasury. Rather I inherited a state with great potential; not an empty treasury,” he had said then

But Ayade reversed himself when he told the local media that the N382bn debt he inherited is now affecting his plans.

Ayade said, “Critics just pick from this because they don’t realize that the same person doing all this has an allocation of about N3.2bn in a month. N1.8bn of that is taken directly from the Presidency to service loans that I did not take.

“I inherited a government with over N382bn as loans on the shoulders of the government, where the oil wells of the state have been taken away.

“I have a salary of about N3.2bn in a month to pay. With N1.8bn directly debited before the allocation gets to the state.

“So, I am left with only N1.8bn to run the state and to run all the infrastructures of the state. Occasionally funds come in by interventions of the government.”

He also clarified the N18bn budgeted for the Odukpani Spaghetti flyover in 2018.

Critics have accused Ayade of budgeting N18bn, N16bn and N6bn for the same flyover in 2018, 2019 and 2020 respectively without building anything tangible over the years.

But Ayade explained that Odukpani-Calabar road was dualized for the first time in the history of the state.

He said, “The spaghetti flyover we have finished and the bills have been cast. We have all the 21 beams cast and they are waiting and ready for launching.

“But to say that if you go there, you will not see anything, we used to have only one lane into Calabar.

“But don’t worry about my budget figures. Go and ask how much I’ve been putting, because the real project cost is there. But the literal cost of doing it gets far less than where we are.

“So, it’s not N18bn and the N18bn was made available and was taken, then the second year N16bn taken. If I make a budget provision of N18bn a year and I’m only able to raise N1bn for that budget for that one year to provide for it.

“The original cost of that N18bn will still be there. But I have only put in N1bn of the N18bn carried over to the next year and drop by N1bn or N2bn based on what I have spent and what I expected to spend.”