The Osun State Government has said that a larger chunk of the money borrowed was used for the payment of workers’ salaries and emoluments.
The Acting Accountant-General of Osun State, Mr Sunday Igbaroola, made this known at a Press Conference held at the Government Secretariat, Abeere on Thursday.
He said that the state encountered difficulties when the state’s revenue nosedived, without a corresponding decline in expenditures.
According to Igbaroola, “80 per cent of the money we borrowed was used for paying salaries, arrears and emoluments. The total amount of our debt is N171 billion and it was incurred principally for the sake of paying salaries.”
He added that the state was able to pay full salaries for the month of July and August due to the recent increase in crude oil price, while debunking claims of the full payment having political undertone.
The Accountant-General said the government would continue to pay the full salary now that the state’s revenue has swollen.
“We received N16.6 billion from the Paris Club Refund and the governor approved the disbursement of N19.8 billion for workers and retirees salaries and pension arrears. The additional Three Billion Naira was raised through the Internally Generated Revenue of the state.”