The Bayelsa State Government has has described as a falacy, claims by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that it was planning to raise fresh loan to be lavished during the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
Spokesman Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said the true version is , the state drawing from an existing loan facility that had since been approved for the airport project, which was at 60 per cent level of completion.
He said it was unfortunate that the Sylva campaign was raising the issue of loan, saying the APC candidate and his campaign officials should be ashamed of their past in this regard.
While applauding Governor Dickson for wisely managing resources, which it said had made it possible for the State to witness the huge infrastructure and other development projects in the last three and half years, the statement slammed Sylva for plunging the state into huge debts running into N432 billion, under his watch as governor.
“Under Sylva, there was routine diversion of funds meant for payment of civil servants’ salaries and benefits. A whopping N300 billion agric loan from the World Bank had no tangible effect in the state. Where were the projects established or farms set up or the fisheries development as proposed under the loan?
“What happened to the N3 billion MDG funds made available to Sylva? It is unfortunate that Sylva left a legacy of a crippling debt profile in Bayelsa State as governor. As a matter of fact, the bond obligation of the state totaled N125 billion under his watch,” he said.