An analysis of the 2024 approved budget of the Abia State government has revealed that the state Governor, Alex Otti, allocated the sum of N5,845,000,000 for purchase of cars for himself, commissioners, permanent secretary, judiciary and Government House/MDAs, Shara Reporters is reporting.
In February this year (2024), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that the poverty index of Abia State stood at 30 percent, meaning that 30 percent of people of the state are living in multi-dimensional poverty.
Earlier this month, SaharaReporters reported how residents and business owners within and around Nkwo Ngwa market in Aba, Abia State, lamented and berated Governor Otti over their flooded bad road.
The residents and business owners had accused Governor Alex Otti’s administration of engaging in social media propaganda to hype his administration while “he is only patching roads constructed by the previous government.”
However, despite the public outcry of poverty and poor state of infrastructure in the state, and the Governor’s promised commitment to reposition the state and lift the people of the state from poverty, a review of the 2024 approved budget revealed that Governor Otti allocated the sum of N1,545,000,000 to the Office of the Governor for, “Purchase of vehicle for commissioners, Judiciary and Permanent Secretary.”
Also, he allocated a total sum of N2.8 billion to the Office of the Governor for, “Purchase of motor vehicles for Government House/MDAs.” The budget document also showed that Governor Otti allocated N1.5 billion to the Office of the Governor for, “Purchase of 2 number Toyota Hilux.
However, he had attributed the N1.5 billion budget for the purchase of the two Toyota Hilux allocated to the Governor’s Office to a software glitch generated by the Excel package used in preparing the budget document.
Governor Otti claimed that the overall numbers of vehicles (two Toyota Hilux) are correct but the figure is not N1.5 billion but N150 million for two units of Hilux vans at N75 million each.
Media reports had quoted Otti as saying, “If you check N1.5 billion against N487 billion budget, that translates to about 0.3%, less than half percent of the total figure, and I believe that it is not that significant in determining the outcome. So even if the wrong number was carried down to the total, it wouldn’t have been material.
“But suffice it to say that anything that comes from the government must be correct. It is an error, and it has been corrected. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. The overall numbers are correct and the figure of N1.5 billion was actually N150 million; two units of Hilux vans at N75 million each will give you N150 million, that’s the correct number.”
