Otti clarified that the cited figures were mere budgetary provisions and not evidence of cash expenditure, insisting that his administration is operating a transparent financial system. Abia State Governor Alex Otti has furiously reacted to viral claims that N54 billion has gone missing from the state treasury, dismissing the allegations as baseless and a reflection of ignorance about government budgeting and spending processes.
Recall that last week, members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) under the Abia’s Best Interest Association had accused Otti of running the state’s affairs in an opaque manner, labelling him a political liability. The group’s convener, Eze Chikamnayo, challenged the governor to account for the N54 billion budget for public school renovation in the 2024 fiscal year.
According to Chikamnayo, despite the huge budgetary allocations for renovations, a visit to several local government areas in the state showed that public school infrastructures are in a deplorable state.
However, reacting during a media chat on Friday, Otti clarified that the bandied figures were mere budgetary provisions and not evidence of cash expenditure.
He stressed that his administration had only spent N2.1bn out of the budgeted sums for school renovations.
He maintained that his administration has operated a transparent financial system, challenging his critics to “understand numbers before speaking.”
“Even the issue of N54bn, the original person who talked about it found out shortly after he spoke that he made a mistake and he decided to walk back his mistakes.
“There’s something called State Transparency, World Bank State SFEAN. It is a programme by the World Bank that requires states to publish their budget performance. What is a budget? Budget is an estimate. At the end of the day, what is important is what cash is spent,” the Governor noted.
Otti further explained that the state’s audited financial accounts for 2024, which clearly show how much was disbursed, had already been made public.
Additionally, he noted his administration had adopted pet measures in place to prevent diversion of funds, particularly through advance payment guarantees for contractors.
“If you check that website, you will see a figure of N2.1bn. That’s what has been spent
What this government does is that before we hand over money to you, we must collect an advance benefit guarantee. So that in the unlikely event you decide to face your village after collecting money, we rely on the guarantee.
“So, at any point in time, if you are working for us, your money will be in our hands and not the other way around,” he stated.
The Governor concluded that the allegation of missing billions was politically concocted by individuals he described as mischief makers with no credibility.
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