Governor Bassey Otu says he used N55 billion to offset debts and contractual obligations in one year.

Addressing journalists at a dinner in Calabar on Thursday night to give his administration’s stewardship, Mr Otu said his government achieved this through prudent resource management.

“These are debts we met and which we must begin to pay if the state is to move forward,” he said.

The governor also refuted the N220.20 billion debt burden purportedly owed by Cross River, as published by the Debt Management Office (DMO).

The DMO said Cross River recorded an eight per cent increase in its domestic debt profile after Mr Otu’s government borrowed N16.15 billion.

According to the DMO, the state debt burden rose from N204.05 billion to N220.20 billion in six months.

“On the much talked about debt burden of the state, I wish to clarify that the error that was caused by the Budget Office of the Federal Ministry of Finance has been corrected, and the adjusted figure shall be uploaded on their website soonest,” he clarified.

Mr Otu also said his government had reactivated the state reserve fund account, which currently has a balance of N3.7 billion.

“We have also initiated the process of valuing critical assets of the state, which will invariably expand our investment portfolio,” Mr Otu said.

The governor said the state had also introduced full automation of revenue collection. According to him, the essence was to monitor major revenue-generating ministries, departments, and agencies and block leakages.

Mr Otu said that the automation of the system also facilitated the deployment of necessary measures to collect revenue from micro and small businesses in rural areas across Cross River.

“From June 2023 to May 2024, the State internally Generated Revenue (IGR) has grown by 60.6 per cent to N36.3 billion,” he said.

(NAN)