The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Kaduna State, Shehu Bawa popularly referred to as Shehu ABG, has raised the alarm over the state’s debt burden, alleging that its complete liabilities have climbed to about N1 trillion, whereas hundreds of thousands of residents proceed to grapple with poverty and poor entry to important providers.
Bawa, who spoke at a one-on-one coverage dialogue organised by The Agenda for Political and Electoral Participation in Kaduna on Wednesday, accused successive administrations of accumulating money owed with out adequately addressing the socioeconomic challenges confronting the folks.
Comparing the information of the PDP and All Progressives Congress (APC) administrations, the candidate mentioned Kaduna’s exterior debt rose from $226.37 million between 1999 and 2015, when the PDP ruled the state, to $684.29 million between 2015 and 2025 below the APC.
He additionally put home debt at N49.85 billion throughout the PDP period and N84.64 billion below the APC, arguing that the figures raised critical questions in regards to the state’s borrowing and the advantages accruing to residents.
The former member of the House of Representatives, who represented Kaduna North Federal Constituency from 2011 to 2015, linked the debt burden to the broader growth challenges going through the state, citing a multidimensional poverty determine of 8.04 million folks and a poverty fee of 74.7 per cent in his presentation.
“Why I’m making this comparability is that I’m a PDP candidate, and my manifesto is guided by the PDP manifesto.
“Nobody ought to come and inform me that one governor borrowed and one other didn’t.
“There should be continuity in every government,” he mentioned, including that his administration would take accountability for implementing the get together’s programme if elected.
Bawa recognized safety, schooling, healthcare, shared prosperity, infrastructure, agriculture and good governance because the pillars of his proposed administration, promising to guard lives and property and work in the direction of making certain that no little one is denied entry to schooling.
On healthcare, he pledged to equip well being amenities, help medical personnel and enhance current providers, whereas promising to attract on his entrepreneurial expertise, together with involvement in a photo voltaic meeting plant outdoors Nigeria, to advertise innovation and financial alternatives in Kaduna.
He additionally proposed establishing agricultural cooperatives and bringing specialists from Brazil, India and China to coach younger folks in fashionable farming strategies.
On infrastructure, he mentioned his administration would prioritise street upkeep and avenue lighting, whereas pledging transparency, accountability and people-centred governance.
Bawa, born in 1973 and a Geography graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, made the submissions on the dialogue organised below the Partnership for Issues-Based Campaigns in Nigeria (PICaN), a platform looking for to shift election campaigns from divisive rhetoric and cash politics in the direction of sensible options to residents’ issues forward of the 2027 normal elections.
However, the N1 trillion debt declare has not been independently verified as of the time of submitting this report.
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