PDP Cautions Banks against Giving Loans to Kogi Gov

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday alerted commercial banks in Nigeria to be circumspect in giving loans or any form of credit to the administration of Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, as the state is not willing to bear any responsibility for such facilities if Bello vacates office in a few months’ time.

The party drew the attention of commercial banks to the fact that Bello cannot scale the hurdles of the November 16 governorship election following the consensus by the people to vote in the PDP candidate, Musa Wada, as their next governor.

The PDP in a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, cautioned financial institutions to note that the governor and his administration now have a Caveat Emptor badge, and that the people of the state are not ready to inherit their financial liabilities.

It stated that the caution was sequel to information at its disposal on alleged  intentions of the Bello administration to mislead commercial banks into granting it huge loans, under certain hazy items and conditions, after which the money would be frittered away by All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders and cronies of the administration.

According to PDP, "Our party wants Nigerians to note that the people of Kogi State can no longer accept any further mortgaging of the future of the state by Bello, whose administration has gone down as the most profligate in the history of our country and which cannot account for over N700 billion of fund  released to the state in the last four years.

"Anybody or organisation in league with Bello is directly supporting the torturing and impoverishment of the people of state by the Bello administration, which has manifested so much insensitivity in owing workers as much as 36 months’ salary arrears.

"On our part, the PDP is committed to running a prudent, transparent and productive administration where the welfare and economic empowerment of the people is overriding; where salaries are paid promptly, where infrastructural development in critical sectors takes centre stage and where accountability is the watchword.”

In this regard, the party urged all financial watch organisations to join the people of Kogi State in monitoring all monetary activities of the Bello administration as well as all inflows into the state coffers, particularly the N10.06 billion federal refund, which the PDP insisted “must be declared and directly channeled for the payment of salaries so as not to allow the ring of APC leaders achieve their plot of diverting and stealing the money for their selfish purposes.”