The Lagos State
Government said it inherited a debt of N430 billion from the administration of
Babatunde Raji Fashola.
The debt legacy was
revealed yesterday as the state announced plans to float a new bond of N43
billion in the Capital Market this year as part of move to finance its budget
deficit.
Commissioner for
Finance, Mustapha Akinkunmi however said the debt was not a big burden for the
state as the government has set money aside to liquidate a fraction of it.
This year, the
government is paying 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.
Akinkunmi, who spoke in
Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria while answering questions on how government
would finance the deficit said very soon, the N43 billion bond would be floated
to raise money to fund the deficit.
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