By GARBA MUHAMMAD

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Kaduna State, Shehu Bawa, popularly known as Shehu ABG, has raised concerns over the state’s debt burden, alleging that its total liabilities have reached about ₦1 trillion amid persistent poverty and development challenges.

Bawa made the disclosure on Wednesday during a one-on-one policy dialogue organised by The Agenda for Political and Electoral Participation in Kaduna, where he compared the state’s debt profile under successive PDP and All Progressives Congress (APC) administrations.

He said Kaduna’s external debt rose from $226.37 million between 1999 and 2015, when the PDP governed the state, to $684.29 million between 2015 and 2025 under the APC.

The former member of the House of Representatives, who represented Kaduna North Federal Constituency from 2011 to 2015, also put domestic debt at ₦49.85 billion during the PDP era and ₦84.64 billion under the APC.

He argued that the figures raised questions about the management of public borrowing and the benefits accruing to residents.

Bawa linked the state’s debt profile to its development challenges, citing 8.04 million people living in multidimensional poverty and a 74.7 per cent poverty rate in his presentation.

“Why I am making this comparison is that I am a PDP candidate, and my manifesto is guided by the PDP manifesto,” he said.

“Nobody should come and tell me that one governor borrowed and another did not.

“There should be continuity in every government,” he added, pledging to take responsibility for implementing the PDP’s programme if elected.

Outlining his policy priorities, Bawa identified security, education, healthcare, shared prosperity, infrastructure, agriculture and good governance as the pillars of his proposed administration.

He promised to prioritise the protection of lives and property and ensure that children have access to education, while pledging to equip health facilities, support medical personnel and improve healthcare services across the state.

On economic development, the PDP candidate said he would leverage his entrepreneurial experience, including his involvement in a solar assembly plant outside Nigeria, to promote innovation and create economic opportunities.

He also proposed establishing agricultural cooperatives and engaging experts from Brazil, India and China to train young people in modern farming techniques.

On infrastructure, Bawa said his administration would focus on road maintenance and street lighting, alongside transparency, accountability and people-centred governance.

The dialogue was organised under the Partnership for Issues-Based Campaigns in Nigeria (PICaN), an initiative seeking to promote issue-based political campaigns ahead of the 2027 general elections, with emphasis on practical solutions to citizens’ concerns rather than divisive rhetoric and money politics.

However, the claim that Kaduna State’s total debt has reached ₦1 trillion had not been independently verified as of the time of filing this report.