As the 2015 general elections approach, those jostling to succeed their states governors in office should a spare a moment for sober reflection, considering the huge debts being owed by some of the states.

Recently, The Guardian newspaper quoting a report by the the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, FRC, in a front page story of Friday September 6, 2013,  disclosed that unless something drastic was done about reckless expenditure by states, efforts at the federal level to instill financial discipline would not record any positive impact.

The Commission, according to the report, said as at the end of 2011, more than nine states over-borrowed their limits, suggesting that their financial health is in dire financial straits. The commission said in the report that it drew its data from the DMO, banks, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. The commission’s frugal borrowing limit for states is put at 50 per cent to ratio of revenue.

According to the report, top on the list of over-borrowed states, according to the yearly report, is Lagos, which it said, over-borrowed to the tune of 155.40 per cent of her consolidated debt to revenue ratio. Next  is Ekiti whose borrowing is put at 80 per cent; following Ekiti is Kaduna State with a debt to revenue ratio of 62.68 per cent. Cross River State followed closely with a debt to revenue ratio of 61.44 per cent. Also listed by the Commission as states under the weight of indebtedness were Edo, Ondo, Bayelsa, Ebonyi and Kwara states.

“Nine states exceeded the loan limit of 50 per cent while four other states exceeded the states’ average debt of 36 per cent. Twenty-seven of the states and FCT fell below states’ average debt of 36.36 per cent,” the Commission’s report revealed.

This is a very worrisome situation, especially for the people of the states affected and Nigerians in general, considering the level of infrastructural decay and unemployment in some of these heavily indebted states. Ordinarily, there is nothing wrong in borrowing, especially when such borrowed funds are well utilized for the benefits of the generality of people.

Also troubling is that in most of the heavily indebted states, there is nothing much on ground to justify the huge debts that are hanging on their necks. Some of them have not been able to pay workers minimum wage of N18,000 or create employment opportunities. But Abia, which is not among the heavily indebted states, is paying workers N21, 000 as minimum wage and at the same embarking on massive infrastructural projects.

Besides, some of the governors of the heavily indebted states are still borrowing recklessly, making their states to be surviving on borrowed funds. But for how long will these continue? This is despite the huge Monthly Federation Allocation to their states coupled with internally generated revenues, IGR.

I had thought that Abia State would be among the list of the heavily indebted states in the country, considering the ongoing massive infrastructural developments in the state.

But it is clear that the recent list of heavily indebted states released by the FRC has vindicated Governor Theodore Orji who had made it clear before now that his government has not borrowed and is not borrowing to run the state as being alleged by some opponents. So where did the false alarmists get their information? It has now become obvious that their criticisms and allegation were politically motivated to mislead the unsuspecting members of the public ahead of the 2015 elections.

I recall that sometime before the 2011 general elections, Orji’s predecessor, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, had raised a false alarm that his successor has been massively borrowing from financial institutions to run the state, thereby mortgaging the state through huge debts. But Orji’s administration presented a documentary evidence which were advertised in newspapers showing that they inherited more than N29.9 billion debts from Kalu’s administration which included backlog of council workers salaries and arrears, adverts placed during Kalu’s presidential campaign and others.

Though I am aware that sometime at the beginning of his administration, Orji tried to raise bonds from the capital market for some developmental projects, but the idea was heavily criticised by the opposition party members in the State Assembly then. So the idea ended dead on arrival.   Since then we have not heard anything publicly about the state government borrowing from anywhere. It is obvious that the present government in Abia has been servicing the debts it inherited in 2007, while at the same time managing the state resources prudently to achieve so much in the state.

These include massive infrastructural developments such as access roads, a Specialist Hospital, 250 health centres across the state, State High Court Complex, New Workers Secretariat, New Government House, International Conference Centre, renovation of old schools and building of new ones, tackling security challenges, building housing estates, including that of civil servants in the state which is due for commissioning soon.

In the area of reforms and human empowerment, some many youths who were unemployed and idle before now have been empowered through Ochendo Youth Foundation in partnership with the state government.

Shelters have placed on the heads of some widows in the state by the governor’s wife Mrs Odochi Mercy Orji. From next month, students of Abia origin in different higher institutions across the country will start getting bursary from government.

If all these and more could be achieved by the Abia state governor, whose Monthly Federation Allocation and IGR hover around N3.5 billion and N250 million respectively. With this, the workers’ salaries takes almost N2.5 billion monthly with the approval of N21,000 as minimum wage by the government, other states governors whose states are heavily indebted with high monthly federation allocation than Abia have explanation to make for the people of their states.

The Abia State financial situation under the present government is a true testimony that prudence and accountability in governance can change a whole lot of thing for the benefits of the people.

Those who have falsely deceived the public for so long by accusing the Abia government of under_performance and over borrowing should openly apologise to the state government and the people of the state.

Romanus Uwa, a medical practitioner, wrote from Aba, Abia State.