Governor Bassey Otu
By Anietie Akpan
Cross River state government under the leadership of Governor Bassey Otu, has so far paid off about N70 billion of its inherited debt in just 16 months in office.
The State Commissioner for Finance, Mr Michael Odere, said this during an interactive session on Tuesday evening Governor Bassey Otu had with select resident business leaders and influential figures in the state.
In a press release on Tuesday, October 16, by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Nsa Gill, the Finance Commissioner revealed that, “the administration of Governor Otu has been able to pay off about N70 billion of its inherited debt without borrowing”.
With this, Odere disclosed that the state government follows international accounting standards and has restored trust.
Data obtained by Pillar Today as published in June, 2024 by the Debt Management Office (DMO) showed that as at March 2024, the debt profile of the state decreased from N196.27 billion in Q1 2023 to N156.17 billion in Q1 2024, showing a 20.42 percent decrease. From Q4 2023 to Q1 2024, there was a decrease from N220.20 billion by 29.08 percent.
Recall that Governor Otu had in a dinner session with Journalists in May this year rejected the N220.20 billion debt portfolio quoted by DMO.
During the interactive session on Tuesday with select resident business leaders and influential figures in the state, Otu, assured resident business leaders of his administration’s dedication to resetting the state’s development agenda to restore and establish the state as a prosperous sub-national entity.
He directed members of his economic planning team to deliver presentations on his administration’s accomplishments, potential, and investment prospects.
The governor stressed the importance of active involvement by business leaders in the state in the government’s programs and visions to bolster the local economy.
He highlighted that effective and strategic planning has been reinstated within the state government, with the groundwork for economic advancement meticulously laid out through establishing various clusters.
In his presentation, the Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the State Planning Commission, Dr. Bong Duke, identified the state development priorities to include making agriculture productive and profitable, growing tourism services, developing a solid private sector-driven economy, expanding access to affordable and qualitative education and social services, building, upgrading, and maintaining infrastructure services, institutionalising essential health care services, and providing sustainable environmental services.
Duke also revealed that the current administration has developed the “Local Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (LEEDS)” for local government administration. The state government expects the soon-to-be-elected local government council officers to follow the LEEDS agenda.
Other members of the state economic team who spoke at the meeting included the State Attorney General, Barr. Ededem Ani, the Commissioner for Agriculture. Mr. Johnson Ebokpo; Dr. Francis Ntamu, the Director-General of the Bureau of Public-Private Partnership; and the convener of the interactive session, High Chief Higgins Peters.
They all emphasised the need for substantial infrastructure development in Cross River, focusing on roads, bridges, and other essential facilities to support economic growth. They also outlined plans to attract private sector infrastructure investment to boost the state’s overall development.
