By Sunday Etuka, Abuja
The Benue State Government has clarified that the administration of Governor Hyacinth Alia has not borrowed any money since its inauguration in May 2023.
This clarification was in response to the report published by the Punch Newspaper of Sunday, March 31st, 2024, wherein it was alleged that 13 new State Governors, including Benue, collectively borrowed N226.8bn from both domestic and external financiers, between the period of June and December, 2023.
The analysis according to the report, was based on the latest sub-national debt reports released by the Debts Management Office (DMO).
However, a statement on Sunday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Benue State, Sir Tersoo Kula noted that the state has not borrowed under the leadership of Governor Alia.
Kula said, “we want to state emphatically that, the government of Rev. Fr. Alia has not borrowed any money from either Domestic or External sources.
“All debts mentioned in the said report were incurred when the Governor Hyacinth Alia-led administration took over on May 29th, 2023.
“Let it be known that the government of Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia is skeptical of borrowings, and will only do so when and if it becomes necessary and it is in the interest of the Benue people, especially to fund critical projects.
“We challenge the Punch Newspaper reporter to be more investigative in his reports, providing accurate facts, which is a key component of journalism practice”, he said.
