APC dismisses NNPP debt claims in Kano as misleading

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed recent claims by the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) administration in Kano State that all currently serviced foreign and domestic debts were inherited from the previous administration led by Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.

In response to the allegations, Muhammad Garba, Chief of Staff to the APC National Chairman, issued a statement labeling these claims as false and a distraction from ongoing issues within the current administration.

Garba, a former Kano State Commissioner of Information, argued that the accusation, reportedly made by Dr. Hamisu Sadi Ali, Director General of the Kano State Debt Management Office, misleads the public and unfairly targets the previous APC administration.

He stressed that while the Ganduje administration had taken on debt, not all of the state’s current liabilities were incurred under APC leadership.

The APC Chief of Staff provided a timeline of some of Kano’s long-standing debt obligations, highlighting loans acquired between 1992 and 2018, including those for the Multi-state Road Project (1992), Malaria Control Booster Project (2007), and State Education Sector Project (2008). These loans, Garba noted, were not initiated by the Ganduje administration but have contributed to the state’s overall debt portfolio.

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Garba further clarified that loans taken during Ganduje’s tenure included a subsidiary loan agreement with the French Development Agency for the Third National Urban Water Sector Reform Project, amounting to approximately 64 million Euros.

This project, initially delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is now slated for completion under the current NNPP administration.

In his statement, Garba expressed concern over what he described as a pattern of the NNPP administration attempting to tarnish the APC’s legacy in Kano without substantiated evidence.

He urged the current government to address its own political and financial issues rather than deflecting blame onto the previous administration.

The APC remains committed to ensuring that the legacy of the Ganduje administration is represented accurately and free from what Garba described as “misleading narratives.”

“Initially, the NNPP government was bragging about this project until the media traced the project to the APC administration, then they started denying securing the loan,” he lamented.

The Chief of Staff said another project which the APC government secured loan for their execution is the Kano State Agro Processing, Productivity, Enhancement P. N/A USD 36,847,000.00 on which the present administration has been implementing for the benefits of the teeming populace.

He stated further that there was also Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing P. N/A EUR 3,500,000.00; Infrastructure Loan; Excess Crude Account (ECA) November, 2015 N10,000,000,000 Access Bank; Salary Bail-out November, 2015 N20,000,000,000 Fidelity Bank and Budget Support-N17,569,000,000.

Garba advised people holding sensitive offices to be guided by their oath of office and be mindful of the enormous responsibility on them to tell the truth and not misled the public on issues of public interest.