Date Published: 03/07/10

How Oshiomhole put N25 billion yoke on Edo, by PDP

Adams Oshiomhole, Governor, Edo State

Unless something urgent is done to stop Governor Adams Oshiomhole in his borrowing tracks, Edo state would soon be the most indebted state in Nigeria, the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned.

Apart from the over N10 billion owed sundry contractors, Oshiomhole has in the new year alone got over N15 billion unsecured loans from four banks, which he cannot fully repay before his tenure runs out, through the state’s statutory allocations and internally generated revenue combined, the party further warned.

In a petition to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the state PDP chapter lamented what it described as Oshiomhole’s profligacy , which it said saw the state’s debt profile balloon from N4 billion in November 2008, when Prof. Osunbor was sacked as governor, and December 2009.

The petition dated February 23 rd 2010 was signed by the party chairman, Chief Dan Orbih. Orbih told Sanusi that “I have facts and figures to back my claims.” He copied acting President Goodluck Jonathan, the minister of finance, his junior colleague, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.

“At the inception of Governor Oshiomhole’s government on November 12 th 2008, he met a debt profile of N4.4 billion…(this was confirmed by Oshiomhole’s commissioner of finance before the State House of Assembly, in his budget defence.), the party stated.

“By December 2009, the state debt profile rose astronomically to N18.8 billion (also confirmed by his finance commissioner at the budget defence before the State House of Assembly,” Orbih penned.

According to the party chairman, “from January 2010 to date,” Oshiomhole got an “unsecured” loan of N5 billion from UBA Plc., another N5 billion from Skye bank, and N2.2 billion from Equatorial Trust Bank. Negotiations for another N2.9 billion is being wrapped up with First Bank Plc., (Sanusi’s former bank), the party chairman alleged.

Edo PDP said its worry stemmed from the fact that, apart from being in defiance of CBN’s order restraining banks from granting unsecured loans to state governments, the loans “were obtained without recourse to due process.” What is more, the party chairman said his worry is fuelled by “the fact that these loans are not used for any visible development project” in Edo State.

“Mr. Governor,” the party chairman appealed, “the time to act is now. I believe you can stop banks from granting unsecured loans to the Edo State government, as to do otherwise would have dire and far-reaching consequences for the banking industry and, by extension, the Nigerian economy.