The Abia State Government has denied spending N927 million for Governor Alex Otti’s meals, welfare packages, refreshments and others in three months.
It was earlier reported that a copy of the report titled “Abia State Third Quarter (July – September) 2023 Budget Performance” was posted on the state government’s website (https://abiastate.gov.ng/abia-state-3rd-quarter-2023-budget-performance-report-2/).
The report shows that the Otti-led government spent N223,389,889.84 on refreshments/meals, while N305,400,000.00 was spent on honorarium and sitting allowance for government officials between July and September 2023.
According to the government, N397,520,734.00 was spent on welfare packages, while N737,922,661.25 was spent to buy vehicles, but the quantity of the vehicles purchased were not stated.
Also, N362,804,050.00 was spent by the Abia government to purchase trucks and another N400,890,000.00 was used to buy buses.
The government further claimed N252.4 million was used to run the Deputy Governor’s office for three months, and N25 million was spent on the repair of public schools in the state.
The report generated outrage online, with many people criticising Governor Otti.
However, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, in a chat with Our Reporter said the report is incorrect, adding that a detailed response will be given on the issue.
He said, “The report is incorrect, there was nothing like that and we will do an official response to that.”
Source: Daily Times
