The Kwara State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the state governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, to provide a detailed account of the N17 billion bond secured on behalf of the state, which is alleged to have been kept in a hidden bank account.
As the primary opposition party in the state, the PDP also urged Governor AbdulRazaq to focus on state governance rather than traveling around the country in his capacity as the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum.
The Chairman of the PDP in Kwara State, Alhaji Babatunde Mohammed, made these demands during the inauguration of the party’s state executive members in Ilorin on Tuesday. He expressed concern that the state government had obtained a N35 billion bond for developmental projects but had not been transparent about the utilization of the funds.
Mohammed stated, “As of press time, the government is yet to update Kwarans on the situation with the N17 billion outstanding from the N35 billion loan, which they claimed was kept in an undisclosed bank after using a certain amount for unreasonable, petty projects which are not beneficial to Kwarans.”
He also highlighted the substantial increase in Kwara State’s debt profile, which had risen from around N30.2 billion in March 2018 to approximately N110 billion by September 30, 2022, within three years of the current administration.
The PDP chairman urged the government to provide an account of the N134 billion generated by the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KW-IRS) over the last three years and the over N200 billion allocation received from the Federal government.
He added, “Summing all these together without the various undisclosed grants and financial aids from foreign and local donor agencies, it is clear that Kwara state has received about four hundred and fifty billion in revenue between 2019 and 2022.”
Despite these substantial financial inflows, Mohammed argued that there were limited visible developments across the state that matched the income. He expressed concerns about the lack of significant infrastructure projects fully funded by the state government during Governor AbdulRazaq’s tenure.
The PDP also advised the governor to prioritize governance in the state instead of frequently visiting Abuja in his capacity as the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum. They called on him to emulate the former governor of the state, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who held a similar position without neglecting governance.
In response to the PDP’s allegations, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mallam Rafiu Ajakaye, defended the government’s handling of the bond funds. He clarified that the state government had spent the funds on various projects, some of which were already completed, and others were in progress. Ajakaye stressed that the government had disbursed the money to contractors as projects reached different milestones and that this information had been widely reported in the media.
The debate over the utilization of the bond funds and the state’s financial transparency is expected to continue as both sides present their arguments.