By Ibrahim Abdul’Aziz
Yola
Adamawa state government has accused the Speaker of the Huse of Assembly, Alhaji Ahmadu Fintiri, of lying about his 89 days’ tenure as acting governor.
It accused Fintiri’s interim administration of massive embezzlement of state’s funds, adding that the administration borrowed about N5.5 billion which it lumped on the loans it inherited from Nyako’s regime.
A statement by the Director Public Affairs to Governor Bala Ngilari, Mr. Phineas Elisha, said the claim by Fintiri in a recent World Press Conference that he inherited a debt of N12 billion from the Murtala Nyako administration was not correct.
“We wish to categorically state that the actual debt position of the state government was N7.6 billion and not N12. 8 billion as claimed,” the statement said.
It accused Fintiri of adding the amount his administration borrowed on the N7.6 billion to arrive at N12.8 billion.
“However, we realised that the figure of N12.8 billion presented as total liquid cash owed to state by only one bank, was prepared by the Financial Consultant (Ahmed Bawa & Co) engage by the former Acting Governor.
“In arriving at the N12.8 billion figure, the Consultant with the tacit consent of the former Acting Governor added the following amounts that were tactically borrowed by his administration into the state total loan portfolio inherited from previous administration.”
It also faulted Fintiri on his claim on repayment of loan and the saving of N2 billion from the review of interest rate on the loan.
“Furthermore, the claim that his administration saved N2 billion on reviewed interest rate from 22 per cent to 16 per cent on figures of N12.8 billion and N400 million interest free moratorium was a misguided information by consultants appointed by his administration to justify the colossal fee of N262 million paid to the consultants.”
It noted that the Fintiri administration also defaulted “on its monthly debt service obligations for the months of June, July, August and September which amounted to the sum of N1.5 billion.”