By Our Correspondent
The Ondo State Government on Monday, Jan. 6, said it has reduced the debt inherited from the immediate past administration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by over 50 percent.
The state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Donald Ojogo, who disclosed this to newsmen, said apart from reducing the inherited debt, the present administration has been able to raise the Internally General Revenue (IGR) of the state from the N700m to over N1b.
According to him, the N220b debt left behind by the PDP has been reduced to about N100b monthly.
Ojogo said the Rotimi Akeredolu’s administration signed a pact with the people of the state to ensure all-round development in the three senatorial districts of the state and has been living up to the promise.
According to him, the Akeredolu administration has been unrelenting in its efforts to use Industrialisation to drive the fortunes of the state, particularly on improved IGR.
He, however, explained that the N30b loan bond which the state sought to borrow would not put the state in more debt as being insinuated by the opposition PD.
Ojogo explained that since the government was not sourcing for loans from banks or any other means other than the capital market, the loans will surely be sorted in line with extant financial provisions.
He said: “Our resolve as a government is that by the time we leave office in the next five years, I said in the next five years because Mr Governor is going to recontest and win by God’s grace, we hope to leave the government without debt for the incoming administration after our two terms.
“The PDP will not deny the fact that we are constructing a flyover in Ore, we have levelled up a hill in Ikare and made it dual carriageway, we are changing the face of Akure with massive infrastructure.”
On the minimum wage, the Information Commissioner said the state government’s approach to the payment was unique, adding that unlike some states, the government has agreed to pay the N30, 000 new minimum wage and leave bonus separately.
He assured that the Akeredolu administration will remain workers’ friendly.
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