Nigeria: Fact-Check - Gov Sani's Claim That Kaduna Hasn't Taken Loans Since 2023 Is Misleading

What the report says

Premium Times, in a fact-check carried by AllAfrica, says Kaduna Governor Uba Sani’s statement that his administration has not borrowed “one kobo” since he took office in May 2023 is not supported by the fiscal records reviewed. The report says Kaduna State budget performance documents and audited financial statements show loan receipts of about ₦10.03 billion during 2025 and the first half of 2026, although those entries do not by themselves prove the loans were newly contracted under Sani rather than drawn from earlier approvals.

The article also examines Kaduna’s debt profile using Debt Management Office data. It says the state’s domestic debt declined for much of 2023 through mid-2025, but rose sharply by the end of 2025 and into March 2026. External debt also increased over the period, leaving Kaduna among the country’s most indebted states on foreign debt measures. The report argues that this trend complicates the governor’s categorical denial of new borrowing.

On Sani’s claim that Kaduna pays ₦6.7 billion every month from FAAC to service inherited loans, the review of federal allocation deduction records found large and recurring debt-related deductions but not a fixed monthly amount matching that figure. The deductions varied by month, with some months below the stated level and one month in 2026 higher than it. The report says the evidence points to a significant debt-service burden, but not to a uniform monthly deduction of ₦6.7 billion.