Groups Blast Fintiriri for Incurring 30 billion Debt In less than a Year in office.
Civil rights groups on Tuesday berated the Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri-led administration for incurring a N30 billion domestic debt in less than a year in office as governor of Adamawa state.
The groups, in separate interviews on Tuesday with THE FINDER, said that there were no visible impacts of the borrowed money on the state in the period.
The Finder exclusively had reported that statistics obtained from the Debt Management Office showed that the Adamawa state government domestic debt stood at about 92 billion naira as of May last year.
According to the report, the state total debt liability rose to N56 billion in June 2014 as Fintiri took about 6 billion naira loan in 2014 when he was the acting governor of Adamawa state for about three months.
Expressing concern about the sharp increase in the state’s debt profile, the chairman, Adamawa first initiative, Ibrahim Luka, said the only response of the administration to the economic recession was “to borrow more money.”
He said that the group was concerned about the circumvention of the laid down legal provisions for loan acquisitions.
Ibrahim Luka stated, “The law, which outlines the democratic steps that should accompany any loan, is not being respected and so in this regard, loans are taken in a most shoddy and blanket manner without any clear purpose or project line tied to such acquisition(s) as well as cost-benefit analysis, as stipulated by the FRA.
“It is thus not surprising that government has not only taken but also advanced loans for things that are unnecessary, look at the manner the 9.9 billion naira was taken without anything to show for it.”
He said that it appeared that the government was hiding under “a superfluous guide of so-called recession to embark on unrestrained and unmanageable borrowings.”
“The burden of debt falls on the shoulders of innocent citizens of Adamawa state.
No visible impact-CLEAF
On his part, the President, centre for leadership evaluation, Philip Pwanovi, said that the borrowing did not show desirable performances by the administration.
According to him, the governor and his cabinet of com should be held accountable not only in matters that have to do with salary payment, but also on debts.
He stated, “Adamawa have never had it this bad and are losing faith in the fresh air promised by the administration. There is hunger almost everywhere in the land.
Citizens will want to see published documents or Mr. Fintiri should address the state as we have yet to see the positivity on the 9.9 billion naira loan collected several months ago for 2000 housing units.”
He stated that it was unfortunate that the government, which based its campaign on “fresh air”, had reverted to the old practices, which the people voted against.