The 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory owe not less than N658 billion.
This was disclosed on Tuesday by the Zamfara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari.
Yari told newsmen after a meeting of the 36 states governors with President Muhammadu Buhari: “The total indebtedness of all the states, including FCT, is put at N658 billion.
“Of course, you know that some of these states are owing salaries and collected loans from banks.”
Yari said one of the ways out of the mess could be borrowing more from the banks.
But he said this time around, the banks may have to extend the repayment period to not less than 20 years.
President Buhari, as earlier reported by The Eagle Online, promised at the meeting to recover stolen monies and also see if the states can be bailed out with money from the Excess Crude Account.