Benue State Governor, Sam- uel Ortom, has said that preliminary investigation revealed a debt burden of N90 billion left by the immediate past administration.
He made the disclosure dur- ing separate meetings with stu- dents and other union leaders from the Benue State University at the old Banquet Hall of Gov- ernment House, Makurdi.
Governor Ortom listed the debts as N50 billion for ongoing contracts, N18 billion for certi- fied ones, N12 billion for salary arrears and about N10 billion for bonds and bank loans.
According to Ortom, the Benue State government has concluded arrangements to bor- row funds to pay one month’s salary across board and also ensure the take off of both the executive and legislative arms of government.
He said the development was necessitated by the need to dem- onstrate to the state work force that he was seriously concerned about their plight and to per- suade striking state university teachers to call off their strike.
Ortom said he had received offers from some banks and would soon approach the State House of Assembly for approval to obtain a loan.
According to him, all his ef- forts to persuade the Academic Staff Union of Universities in the state to call off their strike has failed and that they had insisted that he must pay at least one month’s salary.
He said he would also attend to urgent issues of accreditation at the University with the loan and appealed for understanding and support by all unions at the institution to call of their strikes and give him the opportunity to tackle their challenges.
The governor urged that the plight of students and their parents as well as that of the patients in the hospital should be considered.
BARNES AGIRIGI, Makurdi
