We Neither Borrowed a Dime to Execute Projects, Nor Owe Any Contractor, Says Sokoto Governor Aliyu
By Juliet Vincent
Sokoto State Governor Ahmed Aliyu says his administration has not borrowed a dime from any financial institution to execute any of the myriad of developmental projects and his administration is not owing any contractor.
The Governor dropped this hint while presenting the 2025 Appropriation Bill before the State House of Assembly.
This was contained in a statement on Saturday by Abubakar Bawa, Press Secretary to Sokoto State Governor.
“Since we came on board, we have executed a number of projects in line with our 9-point agenda without taking loan from any financial institution.
“So also my administration is not owing any contractor executing projects in the state,” he added.
The Governor further said his administration pays contractors between 30 -50 per cent down payment for them to mobilize to site and subsequently keeps paying them based on the progress they make in their works.
According to him, once a contractor completes his work and is certified by the Engineers, he receives bank alert of his remaining balance immediately without going to ministry of finance to lobby.
“We have put in place an effective, prudent, and transparent financial system that enables us to achieve all these numerous tangible successes recorded without taking loans,” he added.
While giving the scorecard of his administration in the year under review, Governor Aliyu said his administration had inherited N15 billion unpaid accumulated gratuity, which is now gradually being defrayed.
He added that his administration is giving out N500 million monthly to settle the backlog of the unpaid gratuity and has also set a side another N300 million monthly to pay those retiring during his tenure.
“We are doing that so that by the time we complete our tenure, all our retirees would have been paid their gratuity,” he said.
On the issue of urban renewal, the Governor said Sokoto city is now wearing a new look, making it at par with its contemporaries in the world.
According to the Governor, the city is also looking very neat, with solar-powered street lights being fixed in it and across the 23 local government areas of the state.
Other projects also executed by his administration during the year under review included the distribution of an array of palliatives and other financial support to the people of the state as part of the plausible measures to cushion the obnoxious effects of the removal of oil subsidy.
The Governor added that the state government had also purchased 110 mass transit buses and taxi cabs both for intra and intercity services.
This, he said, was in addition to the 46 buses procured for Inter-local governments transportation.
He also said that the state government had purchased 1000 motorcycles and 500 tricycles to be sold at subsidized rate to ease routine movements across the state.
The Governor further called on the people of the state to continue to rally round the present administration for it to continue with the good work it has started.
