Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has fiercely denied allegations published by Daily Trust Newspapers that his administration is planning to borrow N245 billion to finance the 2024 budget.
Labelling the report as “fake news,” Soludo made his position clear during a press briefing following a state broadcast to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of Anambra State’s creation.
“For close to three years of my being governor, I have not borrowed a dime,” Soludo asserted.
He emphasized that neither he nor his team has discussed or entertained such a borrowing plan.
He said: “The news that I want to borrow N245 billion to fund the 2024 budget is fake news.
“I have tried to find out from the rest of my team where that was coming from and to know if there are any such plans that I’m not aware of. So, it is certainly fake news.”
The Governor took the opportunity to clarify his administration’s stance on borrowing, stating that while borrowing itself is not inherently bad, his government has been exceptionally cautious and selective.
“Every prosperous country that ever developed and grown big lived on some form of debt or another,” Soludo stated, noting that borrowing can be beneficial if it is for projects that will create and add value to the economy.
He pointed out that although the Anambra State House of Assembly had approved borrowing N100 billion in 2022, his administration has not utilized any of it. Similarly, despite having a budget deficit of about N121 billion in 2023, the state has not borrowed any funds to cover it.
“We are not just going to borrow just to finance this or finance that. We are insisting that we borrow for bankable projects, for projects that will create and add value,” Soludo stated.
Soludo also revealed that Anambra State had opted out of a World Bank loan that provided N438 billion to various states across Nigeria.
“Anambra’s name is not on that list. We deliberately opted out of that loan, and someday I will explain why we took the decision to opt out,” he said.
In a sharp rebuke to the Daily Trust report, Soludo called it “blatant falsehood” and urged the public to disregard it.
“Even in our budget, the deficit we have is N121 billion, so how can you be planning to borrow N245 billion when you have a budget deficit of N121 billion? That makes it ridiculous in the first place,” he pointed out.
