In the first part of this publication, dated 7^th March 2015, Nigerians and watchers of the country’s socio-political events were led into the state of criminal borrowings and governance deficiencies in the country’s geopolitical zones leading to heavy defeat of the fundamental essence of public governance (social services provision and delivery) resulting in the country’s geopolitical zones being turned into a zoo of human habitation with the looters and their cronies making themselves hegemonic ruling animals over others.

This publication is generally intended by the leadership of International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law to bring to the fore the fundamental determinants in the 2015 polls so as to open the eyes of the electorates and expose the ruination of democratic governance in Nigeria’s geopolitical zones by the present crop of politicians particularly the State Governors; for the grand purpose of guiding the electorates to make conscientious electoral choice during the referenced polls based on the state of social affairs in their states. It is also intended to demystify some un-repentant political crooks that use media and compromised CSOs to canonise themselves and their political puppets by purporting change or transformation.

The political crooks under reference, who continuously pontificate and canonise themselves; did not worth N5M cash and properties other than their ancestral houses before they became elective or appointive public office holders; but today, they own TV, Radio and Newspaper plazas and other multi billion naira properties within and outside Nigeria. These they illicitly acquired using monies they borrowed criminally using phony excuses and public projects. They buy over hitherto active and outspoken CSOs and lawyers and use them to undermine the course of justice administration for the purpose of escaping its wrath. They are majorly concentrated in the South-West zone. Remnants are also found in the South-South zone.

Owing to recent grave allegations of criminal enrichment leveled against present and past top public office holders in the country, we have been prompted to investigate and expose the sorry state of finances of all the 36 states and the FCT particularly as it concerns criminal borrowings. The fundamental part of our findings is that the referenced huge loans were borrowed for the purposes of criminal diversion, misappropriation including legitimate and illegitimate public office entitlements and white elephant projects. In Lagos State, for instance, hundreds of millions of dollars were borrowed to resuscitate 268 public schools, but in Anambra State, over one thousand public and missionary schools were resuscitated under Mr. Peter Obi administration without borrowing a dime internally and externally.

We also discovered that most of the loans borrowed were not capable of repaying themselves; despite their spiral interest rates. The referenced loans were also dominated by stomach economic purposes. That is to say they were borrowed to offset public and civil service wage arrears as well as for the purpose of criminal diversions using phony projects or project simulations.

Skyrocketed cost of governance is a common place in most of the states, leading to serial borrowing of loans to defray them. We also found that monthly Security votes of the Governors constitute a chunk of high cost of governance.

In Anambra State, for instance, monthly security votes recorded spiral increases in 2014; from N420M a month (5B yearly) in March 2014 to N625M in April/May 2014; and to about N850M in the last quarter of 2014 or about N10B yearly. In Abia State, around N10B is spent annually on security votes. Similar situations apply in other States across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. The reported N10B annual security votes of Anambra State alone constitute about 20% of the State’s annual block federal allocations.

In all, the States of Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Kano, Kaduna, Anambra, the FCT and to an extent; Abia, Imo and Borno, ought not to borrow a dime for the purpose of public governance. This is because of their bountiful internally generated revenue and oil proceeds’ potentials and realisations. Also resorting to serial borrowings is a barefaced indication of deficit integrity of the governing authorities in the affected States; making it impossible for them to source for social development funds externally through development partners and donor agencies. The Obi administration in Anambra State, for instance, is one of the very few states that successfully applied non loan massive external resources mobilisation policy.

Geopolitical/State-By-State Breakdown of Sub-National Local & External Debts

South-West Zone:

External Debts Local Debts Total In Naira

Lagos-$1,169.7B (N222.36B) N278.86B N501.22B

Ogun-$109.1M (N20.1B) N58.38B N78.48B

Oyo-$72.3M (N13.6B) N19.1B N32.7B

Osun-$74.1M (N14.6B) N41.4B N56B

Ondo-$52.6M (N9.9B) N30.88B N40.78B

Ekiti-$46.4M (N8.7B) N22.37B N31.07B

Total=$1,522.2B (N289.2B) N451.01B N740.26B

(Note: In calculating the states referenced external sub-national debts, N190.00 per USD exchange was used)

South-South Zone:

Rivers-$44.7M (N8.5B) N129.54B N138.04B

A. Ibom-$58.8M (N11.2B) N125.03B N136.23B

C. River-$141.4M (N26.7B) N116.06B N142.76B

Bayelsa-&34.8M (N6.6B) N122.8 (est.) N128.4B

Delta-$24.2M (N4.5B) N102.1B N106.6B

Edo-$123.1M (N23.7B) N48.19B N71.89B

Total=$427.0M (N81.2B) N527.93B N717.95B

(Note: In calculating the States referenced external sub-national debts, N190.00 per USD exchange was used)

South-East Zone:

Anambra-$45.1M (N8.5B) N3.025B N11.525B

Abia-$33.7M (N6.3B) N31.73B N38.03B

Imo-$53.0M (N10.7B) N12.66B N23.36B

Enugu-$68.9M (N13.1B) N12.06B N25.16B

Ebonyi-$45.4M (N8.6B) N13.23B N21.83B

Total=$246.1M (N47.5B) N72.72B N116.92B

(Note: In calculating the states referenced external sub-national debts, N190.00 per USD exchange was used)

North-West Zone:

Kaduna-$234.4M (N44.6B) N9.83B N54.43B

Kano-$57.9M (N11.3B) N32.20B N43.50B

Katsina-$78.9M (N14.8B) N269M N15.60B

Jigawa-$35.7M (N6.80B) N1.61B N8.41B

Kebbi-$43.7M (N8.3B) N857M N9.15B

Sokoto-$44.8M (N8.5B) N5.73B N14.23B

Zamfara-$33.5M (N6.6B) N28.21B N34.81B

Total=$532.7M (N100.9B) N78.72B N180.16B

(Note: In calculating the States referenced external sub-national debts, N190.00 per USD exchange was used)

North-East Zone:

Borno-$23.0M (N4.4B) N23.94B N28.34B

Adamawa-$46.7M (N9.0B) N15.97B N24.97B

Taraba-$22.7M (N4.3B) N13.88B N18.18B

Bauchi-$87.5M (N16.5B) N16.82B N33.32B

Gombe-$39.5M (N7.5B) N27.99B N35.49B

Yobe-$31.2M (N5.9B) N1.22B N7.022B

Total=$250.6M (N47.5B) N99.74B N147.32B

(Note: In calculating the states referenced external sub-national debts, N190.00 per USD exchange was used)

North-Central Zone:

Kwara-$52.7M (N10.5B) N22.41B N32.91B

Nasarawa-$49.9M (N9.4B) N28.84B N38.24B

Niger-$44.7M (N8.5B) N24.73B N33.23B

Kogi-$35.7M (N6.9B) N7.10B N14.009B

Plateau-$30.9M (N5.9B) N56.41B N62.31B

Benue-$33M (N6.3B) N24.98B N31.28B

Total=$246.9M (N47.0B) N160.05B N212.007B

(Note: In calculating the states referenced external sub-national debts, N190.00 per USD exchange was used)

Federal Capital Territory (FCT):

External Debts=$36.6M (N7B), Internal Debts= N84.32B

Total In Naira=N91.32B

Summarised Findings:

Total States Sub-national External Debts for South= $2,195B (N417.6B)

Total States Sub-national External Debts for North including the FCT=$1,066B (N202B)

Total States Sub-national External Debts for the country=$3,265B

Total States Sub-national Local Debts for the South=N1,044 trillion

Total States Sub-national Local Debts for the North including the FCT=N423.3B

Total States Sub-national Local Debts for the country=N1,467.9 trillion

Total States Sub-national Local Debts updated by DMO covering 2014 but yet to be added on State-by-State basis=N1,707 trillion

Total States Sub-national Local Debts borrowed in 2014 fiscal year captured by the DMO=N239.5B

Total States Sub-national Local and External Debts for the South=N1,575 trillion

Total States Sub-national Local and External Debts for the North including the FCT=N630.82B

Grand Total of the States and the FCT’s Local and External Debts in Naira= N2,205.9 trillion

Lagos State is the most indebted State in Nigeria owing more than North-West and North-Central zones put together

The South-West is the most indebted Zone in Nigeria with N740.26B, followed by the South-South Zone with N717.95B.

Source: Debts Management Office (DMO) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2015

Observation: It is observed that the DMO records in the area of the States sub-national local debts did not include the 2014 fiscal year or monies borrowed locally by the 36 States and the FCT in 2014 fiscal year. That is to say that the DMO’s last update as represented above is that of December 31^st 2013. But in the area of the States sub-national external debts, the DMO’s update covers that of the 2014 fiscal year.

Also while the DMO’s records as per the states’ external debts are reasonably authentic, the contrary is reasonably the case in the area of the States’ internal debts. Records transmitted to the DMO by the affected states have been found to be likely dubious and manipulated. It is likely there are hundreds of billions of naira worth of hidden and criminal borrowings across several states in the country’s six geopolitical zones.

•Being Part Two of a statement on ‘2015 Polls: Criminal borrowings and governance deficiencies in Nigeria’s geopolitical zones’ issued over the weekend in Onitsha by Intersociety. It was signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman; Uzochukwu Oguejiofor, Esq., Head, Campaign & Publicity Department; and Chiugo Onwuatuegwu, Esq., Head, Democracy & Good Governance Programme. Photo shows Babatunde Fashola, Governor of Nigeria’s biggest debtor state, Lagos.