The Delta State Government has reacted to a report that Governor Sheriff Oborevwori has thrown it into debt.
The Commissioner for Finance, Fidelis Tilije, offered the explanation at a news briefing on Friday alongside one other commissioner.
Tilije was in company of the Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Charles Aniagwu.
At the press conference in Asaba, the state capital, the Commissioner for Finance debunked claims that the Oborevwori administration leads other states in domestic debt borrowing of about N118 billion by an online newspaper.
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He said that the clarification has become necessary to put the records straight.
He described the online report as lies and unfounded and an attempt to smear the achievements of the Oborevwori-led administration since inception in 2023.
Tilije said: “Since the inception of this present administration, led by Governor Oborevwori, this state has not entered into any borrowing relationship whatsoever, whether partnership, individual, corporate, bank, national or international.
“We have not borrowed a dime since this administration took effect on May 29, 2023.
“I state categorically that Delta State remains in terms of finance the strongest financial state standing and I say we are clearly the strongest financial state in Nigeria.
“We stand to state categorically that this administration has not borrowed a dime since inception.
“So, it is hard for us to hear from an online media report, claiming that this state in the past three months has actually borrowed to the tune of N118 billion internal debt.
“It is a serious fallacy.
“I do know that this is actually sponsored, but here in Delta, we know what we are doing, we have paid so much in terms of contractual agreements, we have ensured that old debts are being paid back as much as we can.”
Tilije said that in order to get value for money, the state government has taken measures to check inflationary trend by advancing contractors with 30 percent payment to take advantage of the dry season to deliver on their projects.
He added: “We have also improved in terms of our contractual relationships with our contractors.
“It was difficult to give advance payment before now.
“Now our contractors get an advance payment of 30 percent and we are in discussion to see how to advance 70 percent to contractors to enable them to take advantage of the dry season and to check the inflationary trend in order not to review any contract.
“I state once again as the state Commissioner for Finance that we have not borrowed any one kobo from any institution whatsoever since the inception of the Governor Sheriff Oborevwori-led administration.
“I also wish to state that we are the strongest state in this country in terms of finance.”
Earlier, Aniagwu, who enjoined the media to sustain the exiting partnership with the state government, reiterated that the Oborevwori-led administration has not borrowed a dime as claimed by the online report.
He described Oborevwori as a man of impeccable integrity who had demonstrated transparency in the running of the affairs of the state.
He noted that the state had deployed its Internally Generated Revenues and allocation from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee and had not borrowed a dime.
He said: “We have reeled out a number of projects we have embarked on in the past 19 and half months and all those projects were funded by funds at the disposal of the state government and at no time has the state made any move to ask for money in the form of a loan.
“So, we were surprised when we saw a report in one of the online platforms suggesting that we are number one in terms of borrowing and we do not know where that came from.
“But my colleague in charge of finance is here to let you into the many efforts the Oborevwori administration has made to put us on a platform of solid liquidity.
“We are not only liquid, but solidly liquid to be able to deal with the programmes that we have.
“And that tells you more about the management skills of our dear governor.”
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