Governor Alex Otti of Abia State is currently under fire for spending almost one billion Naira on food within three months of being in power.
Reacting over the ugly incident being a Governor elected under Labour Party, Human rights activist Aisha Yesufu has strongly criticized the Governor, condemning the reported lavish spending on refreshments, meals, honorarium, allowances, and welfare packages within a three-month period.
Yesufu emphatically asserted that the conventional approach to governance is unacceptable. She further advocated for a shift to more unconventional practices.
This follows the revelation in the Abia State budget performance report, titled “Abia State Third Quarter (July – September) 2023 Budget Performance.”
The report is on the state government’s website.
“This Q3 and Year to date performance is assessed against the revised 2023 Budget that covers the Original Budget plus an Amendment Virement sum of N22,263,269,900 as summarised below,” the report outlined.
Within the specified timeframe, the Otti-led government purportedly expended N223,389,889.84 on refreshments and meals, N305,400,000.00 on honorarium and sitting allowances for government officials, and N397,520,734.00 on welfare packages.
Furthermore, the report disclosed a claim that the the Deputy Governor’s office used N252.4 million for its running for three months.
Taking to her social media platform on Monday, Aisha Yesufu expressed her incredulity at the government’s reported expenditure, posting,
“Business as usual can never be the way to go. It must be business unusual. Expenditure must be reduced to the barest minimum. Almost a billion on food and welfare in 3 months? @alexottiofr get organizations like @TrackaNG to help keep you on your toes and monitor your spending and what to cut down on. @Nedunaija this is not good at all.”
