The Anambra State Government has denied receiving N25bn bond from the Debt Management Office.
A senator in the state had alleged that the state government secretly raised the bond without the knowledge of the House of Assembly.
The senator said the bond was for the federal roads rehabilitated by the state government.
But the state Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, C-Don Adinuba, in a statement on Thursday in Awka, debunked the claim.
Adinuba said before a bond could be issued for a state government in Nigeria, the state House of Assembly, the Debt Management Office, the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, as well as the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Securities and Exchange Commission must be involved.
The commissioner said, “The Anambra State Government has not raised any money from the Debt Management Office or the Federal Ministry of Finance under a bond, or any financial instrument from any institution or organisation. Our record of prudent financial management and integrity is well acknowledged far and near.
“It is tough to speculate how the senator came about the phantom N25bn bond which Anambra State purportedly raised surreptitiously from the DMO/Federal Ministry of Finance
“The only thing that any individual can possibly think about is the promissory notes which the state government received in two tranches from the Debt Management Office/Federal Ministry of Finance for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of failed federal roads in the state.
“The promissory notes were never secret. The reimbursement was recommended by the Senate after a public hearing on the debts owed the state for the road rehabilitation and reconstruction. Given the fact that the Federal Ministry of Finance did not have the cash to settle the debts, it opted for promissory notes.
“The amounts and proceeds of the promissory notes are captured clearly in the report of the Accountant General with financial statements for the year ended 31st December, 2019. Even the purposes to which the funds were deployed were stated clearly in the annual report. The transactions could not have been more honorable and transparent and Anambra State is today regarded as a model in governance.”
