The Oyo state governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde has said that about N60 billion of the state’s funds were in wrong hands.
Makinde said this on Wednesday on a visit to the top echelon of the state judiciary, at state High Court, Ibadan.
Nigerian Tribune reports that Makinde added that the state only had about N500 million left to run from the combination of federal allocation and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) once salaries were deducted on a monthly basis.
“We have on record, at least close to N50billion to N60billion of Oyo State money in wrong hands. Maybe we are being sensational, maybe we have a vendetta against our political opponents, I am sure very shortly the ball will be in your court to look at it dispassionately.
“I said on Tuesday that Oyo State is technically bankrupt. I mean it. This state is bankrupt. This is our current situation, and it is our reality.
“However, it is not the end of the story. What we are getting from the Federation Account and the IGR, when you put them together, and we net off salaries, not even the cost of administration, we are talking of roughly N500 million available for every other thing.
“Also, we have verified at least N150 billion in debt. This morning (Wednesday), I met with the pensioners. The retired primary school teachers, they were owed about 60 billion in backward of pension arrears.
“Now, the good news is that Oyo State has the capacity to exit all of these debts. We have the capacity to be prosperous. Inland mass, Oyo State is as big as Belgium. In terms of weather, from derived Savannah in the north of the state, or the way to the south of the state where we have rain forest, you can practically grow on every inch of land available in Oyo State,” Makinde said.
