The Governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Otti on Thursday said that his predecessor, Okezie Ikpeazu left a humongous debt burden of N191.24bn and an empty treasury when he handed over the affairs of the state to him on May 29.
Otti who won the Governorship election in Abia during the last general elections said this in reaction to claims that Ikpeazu handed over billions of naira to him.
The statement was signed by Ferdinand Ekeoma Special Adviser (Media and Publicity); Mr. Kazie Uko
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor; Mr. Mike Akpara, Special Adviser to the Governor on Finance and
Mrs. Njum Onyemenam, Accountant General of Abia State.
Setting the records straight, the Governor said in the statement that the sum of N77,927,939,042.82 was owed Banks in the country, N71,022,162,441.01 was owed as domestic debt while external debts liabilities was put at N42,289,206, 109.84.
Providing further breakdown of the indebtedness, the Abia State Governor explained in the statement that from the N77,927,939,042.82 owed banks, United Bank for Africa accounted for N8,012,830,371.44; Zenith Bank N21,557,168,761.71; Union Bank N597,637,399.55 and Central Bank of Nigeria N47,760,302,510.12.
For the domestic debt obligation, he said that Salaries and Subvention Arrears was put at N18,162,102,692.92; Pension Arrears N21,283,876,789.80; Gratuity Arrears N27,012,996,061.64; and Contractors Arrears N4,563,186,896.65.
The statement further stated that the Okezie Ikpeazu-led government did not leave any N24bn in the account of Abia state government as was falsely claimed.
It noted that the $200m and $50m the government claimed to have left for the new administration are loans they were pursuing which is yet to crystalize.
The statement reads in part, “The Okezie Ikpeazu-led government did not leave any N24bn in the account of Abia state government as they falsely claimed.
“The $200m and $50m they claimed they left for the new administration are loans they were pursuing which is yet to crystalize.
“Outside the humongous financial liabilities left behind by the Ikpeazu-led government, they also left physical liabilities in all our key institutions. For example, our University Teaching Hospital lost accreditation for the first time in history.
“Our only state Polytechnic also lost accreditation. The regulatory authorities predicated their action against these institutions on Non-payment of salaries, lack of Equipment and Lack of Infrastructure.
“Poor internal generation of revenue, with the little they generated frittered away in payment to consultants for no added value. They pay as much as 20 which is highly unethical.
“Doctors who have been on strike since February 2023 just called off their strike, and they emphatically stated that they based their decision on their conviction that Governor Otti would solve the problem that necessitated the strike action.
“Finally, the elementary question is; if ikpeazu had the billions he claimed to have left behind for the Otti led-government in April and May, why did he not pay workers and pensioners before leaving office, since Governor Otti just took over from him on the 29th of May 20237
“If Ikpeazu is trying to preempt anti-corruption agencies by making such provocative false claims, he should know that they work with facts and figures, therefore even if he runs into the APC to seek refuge as he is planning to do, these anti-corruption agencies would pursue and bring him to justice from there.”