Shehu Bawa Alleges Kaduna State Faces N1 Trillion Debt
PDP governorship candidate Shehu Bawa claims Kaduna State is in a debt trap and proposes a bottom-up governance approach if elected.
Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate Shehu Bawa alleged that Kaduna State has fallen into a debt trap, claiming the total public debt has reached approximately N1 trillion. Speaking at a policy dialogue hosted by the Partnership for Issues-Based Campaigns in Nigeria on October 28, 2026, Bawa argued that the state's financial burden has grown significantly under the All Progressives Congress.
Bawa stated that external debt rose from $226.37 million during PDP governance between 1999 and 2015 to $684.29 million under the APC from 2015 to 2025. He further claimed domestic debt increased from N49.85 billion to N84.64 billion during that same period. He linked this debt increase to a 74.7 per cent poverty rate affecting 8.04 million people in the state.
If elected, Bawa pledged to implement a bottom-up approach to governance. He intends to prioritize security, education, healthcare, and infrastructure by consulting with communities across the state's 255 wards to ensure projects meet specific local needs. The N1 trillion debt figure has not been independently verified.
