Abia State Govt. Debunks Gov. Otti Spending ₦927m On Food

Abia State government has debunked that the governor of the state, Dr. Alex Otti spent about ₦927m on feeding alone.

The Labour Party’s (LP) led administration came under heavy criticism by the opposition parties in the state and some other political watchers after reports within the social media space had it that, the state government spent over ₦927m on the governor’s feeding in the last four months.

But the Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr. Kazie Uko and Ferdinand Ekeoma, the Senior Special Adviser to the governor on Media in a joint statement issued on Tuesday described the news as false.

Uko and Ekeoma in a statement tagged “Abia State ABIA Q3 Budget Expenses: Understanding The Issues”, disclosed that the government has spent N223,389,889.84 as cost for refreshments and meals by the entire government of Abia State within the period under review.

The Abia State governor’s aides went ahead to disclose that the state government has spent the sum of N397,520,734.84 as cost for welfare.

The statement jointly signed by Mr Uko and Ekeoma read “Following the publication of government’s commitment to transparency, good governance and fiscal discipline, it has become necessary to shed more light on the aforementioned report.

“This is even more so when there are certain distorted reports on social media, alleging that the Abia State Government had spent close to One Billion Naira on feeding and welfare for the Governor’s Office, within the period under review.

“The accurate situation is that nothing in that region has been spent in the Governor’s Office.

“The facts are as stated below:

“The total amount spent so far by the entire government of Abia State for Refreshments and Meals for the period is N223,389,889.84.

“The figure above is as captured in all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government.

“Please, NOTE that this figure is for the entire state and not for the Office of the Governor, as being erroneously portrayed.

“The stated figure covers expenses for special events, such as retreats, conferences, and related events.

“For welfare, the Abia State Government has so far spent the sum of N397,520,734.84.

“The Welfare expenditure is in line with the State Fiscal, Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability Programme (SFTAS); an initiative of the Federal Government.

“Also NOTE that the Welfare Expenditure covers all the Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and not just the Governor’s Office, as wrongly alleged.

“Expenses under Welfare deal with issues of Health, Rehabilitation and Public Emergencies.

“The Abia State Government, under the leadership of Dr. Alex C. Otti, OFR, will continue to uphold transparency in governance, as has been demonstrated in the publication of the budget performance report for two consecutive quarters.”