By Abdulmumin Giwa
Senator Shehu Sani represented Kaduna Central Senatorial Zone between 2015 and 2019 under the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). Things fell apart between the Kaduna State Governor Nasiru Elrufai who could not get the support of the Senator to pursue his bid for huge loans from foreign financiers.
Shehu Sani expressed disapproval of El-Rufai’s loan request, and his position was shared by Suleiman Hunkuyi (Kaduna North) and Danjuma La’ah (Kaduna South) as the records have it.
His argument then was that another loan for Kaduna State would erode the economic viability of the state, which already had huge debt burdens to fund. This is exactly what has happened and Uba Sani as Governor is crying out loud.
For this reason, Elrufai as Governor and leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state then, chose to replace Shehu Sani with Uba Sani as the Senator to represent Kaduna Central Senatorial Zone in 2019.
Having ejected Shehu Sani from Senate Uba Sani was put in place and made the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions.
Uba Sani was soon to bring back to life the loan request of his state Governor and mentor Elrufai. He swore it was critical the state got it at the time and even asked that the nation hold him responsible if the then Governor failed to utilize the loan of about $350 million properly.
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Uba Sani said “They were wrong in their assertion (referring to the Kaduna Senators that opposed to borrowing).
“Having checked the laws, the accounts and the performance of the Kaduna State Government, the World Bank was convinced that Kaduna State merited its support.
“Equally important is the integrity of the Governor of Kaduna State. While considering the request for the loan, the relevant committees in both chambers of the National Assembly factored in the unassailable integrity of Governor Nasir El Rufai to approve the loan request.” he told newsmen then.
Having cleared the ground for the debt burden of the state, it is morally wrong for Uba Sani to complain today that his predecessor had overwhelmed the state with N85 billion and he could not pay workers salaries as a result, now that he has become the state governor and inherited the debt burden.
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More so, Gov Uba Sani had also accessed a loan to the tune of $17.69 (about N20 billion) within the first six months of becoming the governor of Kaduna State as revealed by the Debt Management Office (DMO). This has added to the liability of the state.
It has now turned out that Senator Shehu Sani was after all, right to have looked forward and kicked against the overwhelming loan burden on Kaduna State.
It is clear that Uba Sani is part of the problem that generated the overwhelming debt in the state, they replaced Shehu Sani with Uba Sani to access the loan.
With him in the Senate Kaduna State became only second to Lagos State in terms of debt burden, however, Lagos can manage it’s debt, but how is Kaduna State going to pay this huge money and still provide the required services to the people of the state?
This opinion is written by Abdulmumin Giwa and does not represent the view of Peoples Pen 24.