NGO Decries N1.2trn Debt Profile Of North West States

A non-governmental organisation (NGO), AID Foundation, has said the level of development cannot be justified by the N1.2 trillion debt profile of the states in the North West zone.

Its executive director, Emmanuel Bonet, told a press conference yesterday in Kaduna that the total debt profile of N1.2 trillion appeared to be a concern for all, especially when compared with the people’s expectation.

He said, “The total debt profile of the zone which stands at N1.2 trillion appears to be a concern for all especially when compared with the people’s expectation of related development”.

Bonet said, “AID Foundation is facilitating avenues that will keep the discussion in the front burner so that more citizens are informed of who, why, when and for what debt are collected as well as give them the opportunity to air their views on the subject matter”.

He said, “Today, we are launching a competition that is aimed at eliciting the views of residents of Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa and Kaduna states on the diverse ways in which they think that their state governments can source funds that will be used for development.

“There is a total token sum of N700,000 to be contested for and won by residents of the North West Nigeria. Each contestant will either record a video or audio of not more than 2 minutes or write an essay of not more than 200 words outlining their suggestions of what they think their various State governments should do to generate additional sources of revenue that can be used for the development of their states.

“The competition is open to all from ages 18 and they should be residents of the state they are providing solutions for. 14 Judges have been selected from tertiary and professional institutions across the zone and will use criteria such as adherence to the rules of time, words and hashtags, and also the quality of input or suggestions etc in selecting winners.”