Benue State Governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia on Wednesday explained that the N93 billion bond secured by his administration would be deployed to infrastructural projects in the state.
Alia who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Kula Tersoo said that bonds are more transparent and reliable than soft loan.
Tersoo said this while reacting to the statement issued by a group known as ‘Defenders of Democracy ‘ which raised the alarm that the state government was trying to plunge the state into a serious debt.
Tersoo argued that bonds are transparent and will not be misused by the recipient.
According to the governor spokesman, “You don’t collect cash while securing bonds, everything is tailored to infrastructure and the payment is tenured. It’s better than soft loan that can be manipulated.
“As bond, no one will send money to you but rather deployed to projects. It’s more transparent than soft loan and the money will not be misused.
Tersoo also urged critics of government to go round the state and see constructions going on, adding that every money accrued to the state is being used judiciously.
“Let the critics visit Guma, Makurdi, Gboko, Obi, Vandekya, Ushongo, and other local government areas in the state to witness the sound of earth-moving equipment working on daily basis.
“For the first time, the ecological funds are being used to open up channels in anticipated flooding areas including Guma.
“Allocations are being used to pay salary and pension allowances and gratuities of retirees and others,” Tersoo said
President of the group, Amous Uchiv had in a statement issued and made available to journalists in Makurdi accused the state government of plunging the state into serious debt.
Uchiv said that the state government had in two months taken a whooping sum of N133 billion.
He said, “With shock and disbelief that despite the multi-billions coming into Benue State every month as federal allocations which have never been seen before in the history of the state, the government of Hyacinth Alia has gone ahead to take a fresh loan of N93 billion for what the governor claims to be “digitalization of governance”.
” This amount is the second in just two months that the Alia administration has taken a multi-billion loan.
“Last month, Governor Alia announced that his government had secured a €25 million (N40.4 billion) loan from the European Investment Bank, for “road construction”. That brings the total loans taken by the current government of Benue State in only two months to over N133 billion.
“Between May 2023 and July 2024, Benue State has received over N200 billion from the federation’s account for state and local governments. This is in addition to several interventions by the Federal Government in the form of palliatives and other monetary support initiatives of the President Bola Tinubu administration.
“That puts the total figure that the Alia administration has received (including the loans) in the region of N350 billion within just a year.
“But what is shocking is that there is nothing commensurate on ground to justify the significantly improved financial fortunes of the state. Instead, Governor Alia and his cabinet are putting a heavier financial burden on the state with skyrocketing loans.
The deputy governor, Sam Ode had on Tuesday disclosed that the state had secured N93 billion to tackle insecurity and infrastructural development in the state.
Ode who represented the governor at a town hall meeting organized by the Special Advisers in conjunction with the state Ministry of Information said that the bonds will be used to curb insecurity and develop projects in the state.