Izuchukwu Okafor, the Anambra State Commissioner for Finance, on Monday stated that the state continued to repay debts incurred by previous administrations. He spoke during a Ndi Anambra podcast released by the state government’s New Media team.
Okafor explained that the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo had not borrowed from any commercial bank since assuming office. However, monthly deductions still came from the state’s Federation Account Allocation Committee funds.
“Yes, every month during our FAC meetings, and when you see the schedule of FAC, you will notice there were substantial, significant deductions from our own FAC because of loans previously borrowed by previous administrations,” Okafor said.
He noted that some of the loans dated back to the tenures of former governors Peter Obi and Willie Obiano. “These loans were borrowed during the time of Peter Obi and Willie Obiano, the past governors,” he added.
Meanwhile, Okafor said the current government had reduced the state’s overall debt burden by more than 83 per cent. The administration also cleared several inherited domestic obligations.
These included unpaid contracts, gratuity arrears and pension backlogs. “In terms of our domestic debt, we’ve been able to clear legacy debts. Today, our domestic debt is near-zero balance,” Okafor stated.
He further explained that external debt repayments were automatically deducted from federal allocations due to existing covenants, including those linked to World Bank loans. The commissioner emphasised that the Soludo administration had managed the inherited debt carefully without taking new commercial loans.
