By A.G Mukhtar
I have been devastated and shocked following the recent request made by H.E Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to access a loan facility worth of Ten Billion Naira (10,000,000,000) from Access Bank which was on Wednesday approved by the State House of Assembly. Ganduje’s request to access a loan facility read that the loan will be used to buy and install CCTV, Cameras and other gadgets needed to strengthen security within the state metropolitan.
It’s very unfortunate to hear such amount will be collected as a loan just to provide CCTV towards strengthening security in the state at the time the provision of basic necessities to the good people of Kano are their utmost priorities. Kano is not among those states with high insecurity level that could said to have needed such amount of money in order to provide cameras and other gadgets to provide security to its citizens.
The loan facility as requested by Ganduje lacks fiscal justification to justify the transparency responsibility as it fails to provide a clear and comprehensive statement of the rate at which the loan will be collected despite the request read that the loan will be accessed at single-digit interest rate with a repayment period of 10 year. Econimically, single- digit loans are basically loans with an interest rate of 0-9 prevent per annum. How could the good people of Kano justify the fact that the loan will be accessed at that rate of 0-9 percent ? How sure the good people of Kano are that the said loan will be used to buy and install CCTV ?
It’s illogical at the present economic situation Kano state government to access a loan of such amount to be spend on project that’s less priority over the need of the people despite the claims that the state has no money to pay pension and gratuity of state’s retired civil servants whom have been dying as result of not receiving their entitlements. Looking at how public revenue dwindles with the state unable to raise the IGR profiles, Kano state government is trying to place more burden on the subsequent government that would have a devastating effect on the state’s capital receipts, IGR and monthly share from the federal government allocation.
Ganduje had on January of 2020 have gotten the approval of the state house of assembly to have sourced N15 billion naira from the Guaranty Trust Bank in order to finance Free and Compulsory education in the state, another request of N300 billions to finance light rail project which I don’t know if it was approved and the recent one N10 billion.
The present situation of insecurity in our dear state is not worth that level of insecurity in other states in which 10 billion can be wasted.The money suppose to be invested in health, education, water, agriculture sectors and pension reform.
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