Governor Ahmed Sokoto has refuted allegations that he took loans to execute projects in Sokoto State.

The BBC Hausa Service reported on Monday that Sokoto State is among the northern states that have taken foreign loans to execute developmental projects. According to the report, the current administration has taken a foreign loan amounting to $489 million to execute meaningful projects across the state.

Reacting to the report, Governor Sokoto, in a statement by his press secretary, Abubakar Bawa, denied the allegation, describing it as misleading and false.

He maintained that his administration has never received a loan from anybody within or outside the country.

“Let me make it categorically clear that I have never taken any loan from anybody since we came on board. The BBC report was indeed misleading, and I expect them to verify the information they claimed to have gotten from the Debt Management Service before going on air.

“I challenge any individual or body that has any record of where we applied for or received any foreign or local loans to produce the document.

“You can’t take loans without following certain procedures, including seeking approval from your state lawmakers. In our case, there is nothing like that,” he stated.

The governor further said that all the projects executed across the length and breadth of the state were funded through the monthly allocation from the Federation Account and Internally Generated Revenue, IGR.

“For now, we don’t need any loan before we execute projects because we are managing the little resources of the state very well,” he said.