A’Ibom’s request for debt restructuring wrong — APC

Akwa Ibom APC Publicity Secretary, Chief Ita Awak

By Etim Ekpimah

The All Progressives Congress in Akwa Ibom State has warned the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Debt Management Office against accepting Akwa Ibom’s request for debt restructuring.

The party stated that such a request should be granted the state after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and other relevant agencies conducted forensic audits of the state finances.

The party said it was wrong of the state to call for debt rescheduling now.

A statement by the state Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Ita Awak, in Uyo, on Sunday, blamed the state government for the huge debt profile of the state, saying the state needed no loan having received billions of naira from the Federation Account in the last eight years.

Awak accused the Akwa Ibom State governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, and the finance commissioner, Mr. Akan Okon, of being economical with the truth regarding the government’s claim that the debt the state owes commercial banks was N64.5bn.

He insisted that the state’s debt profile was more than N500bn.

Awak added that Emmanuel’s administration was trying to cover up for the financial indebtedness of the last administration by saying that the state was owing commercial banks only N64.5bn.

He said, “After nearly three months of persistent calls by the good people of the state, the Udom Emmanuel administration managed last Monday to reluctantly disclose to Akwa Ibom people that the remainder of the debt owed by the state to commercial banks was N64.5bn.”

Culled from Punch newspaper