Gov Explains Jigawa’s Low Debt Stock as State gets N13.5bn SFTAS Grant

Ndubuisi Francis

The Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru, has attributed his state’s low debt stock to fiscal discipline, transparency and accountability in the application of resources.
Jigawa is adjudged the least-indebted state in the country according to statistics from the Debt Management Office (DMO).

Badaru, who spoke during a media tour of the federal government’s World Bank-assisted States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability, and Sustainability (SFTAS) programme, applauded the President Muhammadu Buhari administration for the initiative.

The governor stated that SFTAS had further helped to support his state in enthroning a fiscally-transparent, accountable and sustainable governance structure, adding that the state

According to Badaru, who alongside his deputy, Mallam Umar Namadi and Commissioner for Finance, Hon. Ibrahim Babangida Umar are chartered accountants, fiscal prudence has become the hallmark of his administration such that Jigawa State currently has the lowest debt stock in the country.

The governor noted that his administration decided to de-emphasise borrowing while plugging leakages and boosting internally-generated revenue, adding that borrowing is sustainable with a solid tax revenue base which his government is pursuing vigorously.

Badaru, whose government inherited a liability of N50 billion contracts awarded by the previous administration, but not executed, disclosed that the contracts were renegotiated and the contractors mobilised to site.

He added that all the contracts had been fully executed with the contractors paid.

The governor noted that the state does not just award contracts, but ensures that contractors are paid on completion of their contracts, public service workers paid on the 25th of every month while pensioners are paid in the first ten days of the month.

Further applauding the SFTAS programme for supporting Jigawa State to instil fiscal transparency, accountability and sustainability in the management of state resources, Badaru said its application helps to give a timely position of available funds.

The governor noted that the state is implementing all the nine Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs), which are derived from the country’s 22-Point Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP)
Earlier in his remarks, the National Programme Coordinator, SFTAS, Federal Ministry of Finance Budget and National Planning, Mr. Stephen Okon, said Jigawa is one of the three top states in the implementation of the SFTAS programme.

Okon, who was represented by the Deputy National Coordinator, SFTAS, Mr. Ali Mohammed, noted that prior to SFTAS’ emergence, the Badaru administration had initiated a number of programmes that enshrined fiscal discipline.
He added that due to its consistent progress, Jigawa State benefited from the first and second $750 million performance-based grants from the federal government to states, which achieved the Annual Eligibility Criteria and the Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs).

Also welcoming the team to his office, the Commissioner for Finance, Hon. Ibrahim Umar said Jigawa State had performed creditably well in the SFTAS programme and benefited from the grants to the sum of N13.5 billion so far in the 2018 and 2019 assessments, adding that the state expects to surpass previous assessments in the forthcoming exercise.