As at the end of 2016, the debt burden of the 36 states of the federation has risen to over N3.342 trillion, according to the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
NEITI said Lagos, Delta, Osun and Akwa Ibom states topped the chart of highly indebted states with a total of N1.262 trillion, representing about 38 per cent of the entire sum owed by the 36 states of the federation.
Lagos’ indebtedness stood at N603.25 billion, while Delta is indebted to the tune of N331.95 billion. Osun State is indebted to the tune of N165.91 billion, while Akwa Ibom has a total indebtedness of N161.23 billion.
The information about the 36 states’ indebtedness was contained in the third edition of the NEITI Quarterly Review, which focused on Federal Accounts Allocation Committee disbursements in 2016.
According to NEITI, the publication, which was backed up with facts and data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the FAAC and the Management Office, was consistent with NEITI’s mandate to monitor fiscal allocation and statutory disbursement of revenues due to the three tiers of government.
It said, “NEITI’s legitimate interest in the debt profile, revenue generation and management in Nigeria is as a result of the fact that over 70 per cent of the revenues involved are derived from the extractive industry.”
Currently, other states with high debt burden are Ogun, N103.75 billion; Edo, N94.54 billion; Kano, N81.05 billion; Ekiti, N67.3 billion; Enugu, N57.56 billion; Benue, N49.15 billion; and Katsina, N30.03 billion.
