From Godwin Okeh, Abakaliki
Ebonyi state Commissioner for Finance, Leonard Uguru has said that the governor Francis Nwifuru is not corrupt and will not borrow money to finance any project.
Uguru, equally debunked the involvement of the state government in the borrowing of 226.

8bn from domestic and foreign financiers by thirteen governors in the country.
The state Commissioner, Uguru explained that the state governor, Francis Nwifuru has not borrowed from both internal and foreign creditors since assumption of office on May 29, 2023.
He made this known while reacting to the publication of Debt Management Office,DMO which reported that Ebonyi government under Francis Nwifuru are among the 13 states had between June-December 2023 borrowed $125.1m(111.24bn) where the state according to report accumulated external debt of $37.54 million.
The state Commissioner explained further that the state has not borrowed money since assumption of office as the governor has vowed never to borrow to fund his government.
According to him: “Since the inception of this administration, Ebonyi state government has not borrowed any money whether foreign or domestic loan. So, any organization that’s writing that Ebonyi is among the states that has borrowed money, I don’t know where they are getting their data.
“According to him, the governor, Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, is not even ready in the near future to borrow, because he said that he’s not going to leave a loan for his successor or unborn generation.
“So, the money we are getting from the federation account and IGR is enough to give to Ebonyi citizens what they want from him based on the people’s charter of needs as promised by the governor in as far as the government is not corrupt to be diverting what’s meant for personal aggrandizement and that’s our stand for now.
“The state debt profile is not as high as other states. Debt profile being high is a relative term because you can’t expect the debt profile of the United States of America for instance to be the same with a country like Togo.
“So, in South East states, Ebonyi state is still the least in both domestic and foreign debt. Even though the 150 million dollar loan from Africa Development Bank and Islamic Bank by the past administration in the reconstruction of ring road which is what made the loan to increase, it is worth it as the road cuts across various Local Government Areas of the state. Outside that, I don’t think there’s any other debt owed by the previous state government.
“The state government is not sleeping on its oars as long as we know that the priority of the present administration is not on infrastructure but based on welfare of the citizens.
“That’s why the government started with buying vehicles to be conveying civil servants going to work both those working in the universities, Centenary City and other places of work free of charge both to and fro.
“Recently, the governor has also directed the office of Head of Service to make sure that every arrears, those due for promotion and others, be prepared to ensure that people enjoy their promotions with financial effect.
“To those who are not civil servants, it is not my office to tell you because we are all aware that some group of hawkers in different parts of the country who are indigenes of the state were given free two million naira as grants to their businesses and that was one of the ways the state government is using to elevate the suffering of Ebonyians both those in the state and outside with other programmes ongoing.
“We are still preparing now to go for one billion naira distribution for another set of hawkers and once the process of selecting them is fair and transparent, we will begin to empower them.
“Investors are coming, and during the inauguration of the Internal Revenue Board, the governor was emphatic that they should tackle the rich and not the poor vegetable sellers. Most times, the poor are the ones paying revenue. The investors can see that there’s no more double taxation as the state means business in their efforts to create an enabling environment for investment to thrive.
 “The 2024 budget as approved is going as required in its implementation level at every ministries. By the 28th of this month, the ministry of Budget and Planning will be sending a report to the nation based on law on the implementation level.
“The ministries submit returns on a monthly basis based on the performance of the budget and on the 28th the ministry will send their quarterly report to the national from where we know the performance of our budget.
“Right now if you are writing any memo to the governor,it must be attached with the budget. The judiciary has received fifty percent of the budget as they are autonomous” he said.