JAMB RECORDS BROKEN; BEST JAMB RESULT SO FAR 337

 

Samuel Ortom, the outgoing governor of Benue State, handed over N187 billion in debt to Rev. Fr. Hyacinth, the incoming governor.

At the handover ceremony held in the Old Banquet Hall of Government House in Makurdi, Ortom stated that the N187 billion in debt was made up of unpaid loans, contractual obligations, and salary arrears.

In his speech, Ortom stated that his administration was transferring N187 billion in debt, which included unpaid loans, contractual obligations, and salary arrears.

The departing governor stated in his handover note that the state earned N734.9 billion in total over the course of his eight years in office.

He continued, saying that the expense had cost N735.6 billion while acknowledging that the state's debt load was quite high.

"This handover note contained not only the organization but also the activities of my eight years of administration," he said. It includes departmental, ministry, and agency sectoral summaries.

There are three volumes in total: volume one contains a handover of all MDAs; volume two contains a policy document from my administration (the Benue development plan); volume three contains highlights of the debt profile and pension; and volume three contains the in-depth briefs provided by ministries and agencies. All MDAs are turned over in Volume 1. The development plan for Benue is also included in Volume 2.

At the end of April, the total revenue and income from all sources—federation account, VAT, grants, loans, and others—was N734.9 billion, while the total expenditure was N735.6 billion.

The state owes N187 billion in debt, which includes back pay on salaries, pension obligations, and other things.

"The state's debt situation might appear to be on the high side, but the government has taken significant steps to reduce this through a debt swap with the federal government," the outgoing governor said.

Ortom advised the new governor to take advantage of the financial resources that will soon be available to him, such as unpaid stamp duty and N61 billion in loan facilities from the Central Bank of Nigeria, to ensure a successful launch.