Yuguda Left Liability of N96.9bn, Not N125bn, Says Transition Committee

Contrary to the claim by Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar of Bauchi State that his administration inherited a debt profile of over N125 billion from the immediate past administration of former governor Isa Yuguda, the transition committee set up by the governor has clarified that the inherited total liability is N96.9 billion.

This was disclosed yesterday by the chairman of the committee, Muhammed A Muhammed, while submitting a four-volume report of the committee to the governor at the Government House, Bauchi. The committee’s terms of reference included determining the actual debt profile of the state.

In his maiden broadcast to the people of the state two weeks ago, Abubakar stated that the Yuguda administration literally lived at the expense of the state populace for the past eight years, adding that the new administration inherited a debt profile of N125billion made up of domestic and foreign debts.

According to him, the state debt profile was made up of domestic loans of N48.74 billion; foreign loans of $87 million (N18.91 billion), adding that other liabilities inherited by his administration included contractual liabilities of N41.55 billion; gratuity arrears for state government (N7.74 billion); gratuity for local government (N6.92 billion) and salary arrears for the month of January, 2015 (N1.67 billion).

The chairman, who submitted an executive summary, which he said contained a summary of the report to Governor Abubakar, stated that the liability included an external loan of N16.8 billion. He, however, asked the state government to investigate the disparity further with a view to determining the actual debt profile of the state.