He disclosed that the external debt stood at N282 billion, attributing the increase in the debt profile to depreciation in the value of the naira.

The Accountant-General disclosed this during a meeting with members of the Edo State Assets Verification Committee.

According to him, his office had written to all the banks in the state that had transactions with the state government to furnish his office with their statements of accounts to enable him furnish the committee.

He said through investigations, the committee would discover that most of the loans were channeled directly to the agencies for which they were secured.

Anelu however pledged to furnish the committee with all the necessary and vital documents in order to make the job less cumbersome.

On the mode and method of contract executions and payments, the Accountant- General explained that that most of the payments were made through the commercial banks that served as sureties for the contractors and financed their projects.

He said most of the contractors used First Bank Plc through which payments were made to them.

“The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning would appear before the committee to explain the budget implementation and performance since 2017,” he added.

Anelu assured the committee of his willingness to comply with its demand by making available all relevant documents, including payment vouchers in respect of all transactions carried out by his office.

“As a civil servant, I have no reason to disobey the committee, it is my duty to let the committee know all financial transactions of the state during the period under my purview as the Accountant- General of the state.

“Some of the transactions were also done through the office of the Secretary to the State Government, though all payments passed through my office,” he said.