By Secrets Reporters
The Kogi State Commissioner for Finance told reporters that the administration of Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo had cleared N98.8 billion of inherited debt within fifteen months, and he put the state’s debt profile at N40.5 billion as at 30 September 2024.
The state’s audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024 record a different position three months later. Total liabilities stood at N123,355,796,497 at 31 December 2024. The statements were signed off with an unqualified audit opinion by the Auditor-General of the state, Alhaji Yakubu Y. Okala, on 21 July 2025, the opinion recording that the statements agree with the books of account and give a true and fair view.
Inside the audited figures, the state’s external borrowings stood at N80,469,972,210 at the end of 2024, against N46,026,359,956 a year earlier. The increase of N34,443,612,254 in one year arose on the devaluation of the naira, which enlarged the naira value of loans taken in foreign currency.
The cost of carrying the debt rose through 2025. Debt service opened the year with a provision of N27,980,000,000 in the approved budget. The provision was raised during the year to N51,382,016,226, and the state recorded actual debt service payments of N34,957,579,503.28 for 2025. For 2026, the approved budget carries debt service of N16,000,000,000.
By the middle of 2026, the foreign portion of the charges had passed its full-year provisions. The Budget Implementation Report for the second quarter of 2026 records that the Debt Management Office paid foreign interest of N2,089,000,366.91 by 30 June 2026 against a full-year provision of N1,000,000,000, and foreign principal repayments of N2,708,315,926.94 against a full-year provision of N1,000,000,000. Each of the two charges closed the half year at more than double the amount provided for the whole year.
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