Toba Owojaiye Reporting
In response to the claims made by Former Governor Ikpeazu, regarding Abia State’s financial situation, the Alex Otti -led government has provided a comprehensive narrative of the state’s financial status as of May 28, 2023.
According to the report, the government shared an overview of the balances held in different banks.
The nature of facilities and loan balances are as follows:
UBA held ₦8,012,830,371.44,
Zenith Bank had ₦21,557,168,761.71, Union Bank accounted for ₦597,637,399.55, and the Central Bank had the largest balance at ₦47,760,302,510.12.
The total bank balances amounted to ₦77,927,939,042.82.
Moving on to domestic debts, various arrears were outlined. Salaries and subventions arrears stood at ₦18,162,102,692.92, pension arrears amounted to ₦21,283,876,789.80, gratuity arrears reached ₦27,012,996,061.64, and contractors arrears accounted for ₦4,563,186,896.65. The total domestic debts arrears summed up to ₦71,022,162,441.01.
External debts were also mentioned, totaling ₦42,289,206,109.84.
In light of these figures, the grand total of Abia State’s financial position was revealed to be ₦191,239,307,593.67.
To clarify the situation, the government officials countered Ikpeazu’s claims. They stated that there was no ₦24 billion left in the Abia State government’s account, as alleged. Furthermore, the $200 million and $50 million dollars that Ikpeazu attributed to the previous administration were clarified as loans being pursued but not yet realized.
The statement was jointly issued by Ferdinand Ekeoma, the Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) to the Governor of Abia State, Kazie Uko, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mike Akpara, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Finance, and Mrs. Njum Onyemenam, the Accountant General of Abia State. The date of the statement was June 15, 2023.