How Abia Gov Otti spent N5bn recklessly – PDP
As Nigerians still react to the plans to spend billions of naira on the president, his vice and wife, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused Abia State Governor Alex Otti of spending N5bn recklessly to carry out some repairs on the office within three months.
It was revealed yesterday that President Bola Tinubu planned to procure a presidential yacht to the tune of N5bn at a time millions of Nigerians are groaning in pain and poverty the current government plunged them into.
The main opposition party, the PDP, said that the Abia State governor mismanages funds. The party was reacting to a report published by the World Bank under the States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS), the party said Otti had displayed an “unparalleled, unequalled and inhumane level of financial recklessness that speaks to the abandonment of good governance in such a short period in office and a flagrant disregard to his campaign promises.”
The party’s state Vice Chairman also serving as acting State Publicity Secretary, Elder Abraham Amah said that Alex Otti has spent half a billion naira on his propaganda.
PDP’s statement reads, “The attention of Abia PDP has been drawn to the Abia State 3rd Quarter 2023 budget performance report provided by the government itself on the State website wherein the statements of income and expenditure for the period between July-September 2023 were displayed.
“This publication is coming on the heels of the cash award to States by the World Bank under the States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability, SFTAS, and after a very careful and professional review, the Abia PDP came to the inevitable conclusion that Alex Otti has displayed an unparalleled, unequalled and inhumane level of financial recklessness that speaks to the abandonment of good governance in such a short period in office and a flagrant disregard to his campaign promises.”
“According to the records, Alex Otti used the sum of N5.32 billion to run the governor’s office from his private residence in Isiala Ngwa in three months while his counterpart in Ebonyi State used the sum of N805 million to run the governor’s office during the period under review.
“About a month ago, Alex Otti made a public display of self-indictment when he announced to a gathering of his ‘yes men’ that he has not and will not collect salary of about N1.6m a month as a governor and they gave him a thunderous applause even when they did not know that he collects an unaccounted amount of N933.3 million naira monthly as security vote, totalling N2.8 billion in the months of July-September while his Ebonyi counterpart collected N805 million naira for the same period.
In the period under review, Alex Otti spent a staggering sum of N542.8 million to oil his propaganda machinery, the Abia Ministry of Information and propaganda which is run from Lagos just to deceive and continue to confuse the unsuspecting Abia public who are mistaken of his sanctimonious posture.
“In the expenditure record, the Abia deputy governor’s office spent the sum of N252 million while the Ebonyi State deputy governor spent the sum of N95m in the period under review even as he used the sum of N393m to clear refuse in only Aba and Umuahia under State Environmental Protection Agency, ASEPA.
“In all of these recklessness, the smoking gun is the total recurrent expenditure of N10.8 billion out of a revenue of N25.21 billion even when about 10, 000 workers in the Abia State Civil Service have been unduly sacked by Alex Otti and he spent an unverifiable N5.02 billion on capital expenditure while Ebonyi received a revenue of N23b and spent N11.85 on capital expenditure. More startling is the fact that many Abia Civil Servants have either been paid half salaries or none at all and the big question is why such a huge cost on recurrent expenditures?
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