Governor Ambode inherited N430b debt from the pass administration of Babatunde Fashola

The Lagos state government has revealed that it inherited a debt of N430 billion from the immediate past administration of Babatunde Raji Fashola. The Commissioner for Finance in the state, Mustapha Akinkunmi, disclosed this in Ikeja yesterday while answering questions on how the state government intends to finance the deficit. He announced that the state government plans to float a new bond of N43 billion in the capital market this year as part of moves to finance its budget deficit. Akinkunmi however noted that the debt was not a big burden as the current administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has set aside money to offset a part of the deficit. He stated that the government will this year be paying about N78 billion to the creditors. The commissioner maintained that the debt profile, according to international ratings, was sustainable adding that the state government has set in motion machinery to adequately pay back the debt. He said the state government is borrowing N119.7 billion to finance its budget deficit for this year, adding that out of the N662.588 billion budget for this year, the total revenue is put at N542.873 billion while the balance of N119.715 billion is to be funded through borrowing. Akinkunmi said payment for the bond is going to be on a long term basis, adding that the government had earmarked N12 billion to service part of the N119.7 billion to be borrowed to service the budget.