On April 23, 2024, an X user (formerly Twitter) tweeted a long thread titled “Debt Profile Of Edo State Between The Administration of Comrade Oshiomhole And the Administration of Gov. Obaseki”
In the thread, the CDD War Room identified three different claims.
Claim I: Adams Oshiomole left a total debt profile of N45,091 billion while the external debt was $183,641 million
The X user, while comparing the debt profile of Adams Oshiomole who governed and handed over to Godwin Obaseki, suggested that “At the end of the administration of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole on November 12, 2016, the total debt profile of the state stood at N45,091 billion while the external debt was $183,641 million”
Verification:
Adams Oshiomole was the governor of Edo State from November 2008 to November 2016.
According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), Edo’s domestic/internal debt profile was N45,091,949,113.97 as of December 2016 while the external debt stood at $183,641,998.74.
Verdict: TRUE
The CDD War Room found that Edo State’s internal debt profile was N45,091 billion while the external debt was $183,641 million at the time Oshiomole left office as governor.
Claim II: The debt profile under the governorship of Godwin Obaseki’s as at April 2024 is N123,789 billion internal debt and $314,448 million external debt, excluding the $75 million borrowed from World Bank in December, 2023.
Governor Obaseki took over from Oshiomole from November 2016 to date. He will complete his 8-year tenure by November 2024. According to the DMO, as of December 2023, Edo State’s domestic/internal debt stood at N123,879,949,054.12 while the external debt was $314,448,148.13.
CDD War Room found that in 2015, the Nigerian Senate approved the $75 million loan requested by Godwin Obaseki for Edo State.
Verdict: TRUE
The CDD War Room found that Edo State’s internal debt profile was N123,879 billion while the external debt was $314,148 million as of December 2023. There is no verified data showing the debt profile of the state from December 2023 to April 2024. We are therefore relying on the most recent data released by the DMO.
Claim III: Edo State is the third most indebted state in Nigeria.
The X user added “This (debt) figure places the state in 3rd position, coming behind Lagos and Kaduna States who are occupying the 1st and 2nd positions respectively.”
Verification:
The CDD War Room found that as of December 31, 2023, Lagos held the first position as the most indebted state, with a domestic debt profile of N1,048,703,617,143.87 and an external debt profile of N1,243,798,891.10. This is followed by Kaduna, which has a domestic debt profile of 85,519,766,061.70 and an external debt profile of N587,072,213.55. Edo State follows with a domestic debt profile of N123,879,949,054.12 and an external debt profile of N314,448,148.13.
Verdict: TRUE
The CDD War Room confirms that based on the most recent data covering the debt profile of all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Edo State occupies the third position of the most indebted state in Nigeria. The South South State is third behind Lagos and Kaduna States, which hold the first and second positions, respectively.
Leave a Reply