We inherited a debt of N432b from Fashola, says Lagos govt

The Lagos State Government on Wednesday said it inherited a debt of N430 billion from the immediate past administration of Babatunde Raji Fashola.

The huge debt profile was made known to newsmen as the state approached the capital market to float a new bond of N43 billion this year as part of move to finance its budget deficit.

Commissioner for Finance, Mustapha Akinkunmi in a bid to difuse any doubt surrounding the debt and the prospects of the new administration, said that the debt was not a big burden for the state as the government has set money aside to liquidate a fraction of it.

According to him, the state government plans to pay about N78 billion to the creditors.

He said the debt profile of the state is sustainable according to international rating, adding that adequate plans have been put in place to pay back the state's debt which is a long term debt.

The state government is borrowing N119.7 billion to finance its budget deficit for this year. 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 to be funded through borrowing.

-Emmanuel Ikechukwu