Delta State Government says it has paid N160. 9 billion out of its debt stock of N465. 3 billion between January and June.
The Commissioner for Economic Planning, Mr Sonny Ekedayen said this yesterday in Asaba during a stakeholders meeting on the deliberation/preparation of the 2025 budget.
“We have substantially reduced our debt stock from N465.3 billion at the inception of this administration to N303.4 billion as at June 2024.
”This reduction of N160.9 billion represents approximately 25.3 per cent of the debt stock”, he said.
Ekedayen attributed the feat to improved financial management, transparency and fiscal discipline among others.
”We have strengthened our financial management systems by ensuring better allocation and utilisation of resources through bottom-up budgeting process.
“We have also prioritised the needs of our people in line with global best practices.
”We have institutionalised fiscal discipline through the balanced budget approach and ensured that we are living within our means by cutting our clothes according to our cloth.
”We have been able to meet our expenses and maintain financial buoyancy without recourse to any borrowing, while ensuring government gets value for every naira spent through strict and regular monitoring”, he said.
According to him, the state has be able to enthrone cost control measures across board and this has ensured substantial cash savings, which are judiciously deployed to funding the infrastructural projects across the state.
The Commissioner also said that the state has made some progress in its fiscal space since the inception of the present administration in the last one year.
