'I borrowed N10bn to clear salaries' - Governor Yahaya Bello

Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, on Friday disclosed that his administration resorted to borrowing N10bn before it could clear four months’ salary arrears a few days to the last Christmas Day, Punchng reports.


He said the loan was added to the over N1.2 bn that accrued to the state from the Paris Club refund as well as Kogi’s November and December allocation before the feat could be achieved.




The governor made the disclosure while speaking with State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He said, “In Kogi State today, we are up to date as far as payment of salaries is concerned. In December, Mr. President magnanimously assisted us with another tranche of Paris Club refund. Our own was N1.2 bn and some other change on top (sic).

“We didn't just stop at that, we borrowed up to N 10bn and added November/December allocations to our figures before we were able to clear four months’ arrears at a stretch before Christmas Day.”




From January, however, the governor said workers in the state would be earning salaries based on the number of times they were present at work.