Victor EzejaImmediate past governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, has denied owing banks before leaving office.
Chief Press Secretary to the ex-governor, Sir Onyebuchi Ememanka, stated this while reacting to a report that Ikpeazu’s administration was owing some commercial banks a total sum of N22 billion as at 28 May 2023 when he handed over to current government of Dr Alex Otti.
Ememanka while describing the report as false, accused the leadership of Dr Alex Otti of engaging in blame game instead of facing the serious business of governance.
Ikpeazu’s media aide said that they are constrained to issue yet another clarification on the matter, as they consider it very serious and of great public importance.
He said: “Their latest strategy is to surreptitiously inform key agencies and arms of government that their reason for not meeting their obligations to them is because there is an outstanding loan of a whopping N22 billion taken by the Ikpeazu administration from Zenith Bank and UBA.
“Nothing could be farther from the truth. The N22 billion loan exists in the imaginations of the peddlers of the wicked and warped narrative.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to make it abundantly clear that as of the 28th day of May 2023 when the administration of Dr Okezie Ikpeazu ended by effluxion of time, the Government of Abia State was not owing any commercial bank in the ordinary course of business.
“This is a no-brainer because no commercial bank in Nigeria will grant any facility to any State Government, the repayment terms of which will run beyond their tenure of office.”
Ememanka said that in the ordinary course of business, the Abia State government, like every state government in Nigeria, had financial arrangements with banks by way of Temporary Overdraft facilities (TOD).
He said that they, however, are proud to state that all TODs were cleared before leaving office.
“To be more specific, the only outstanding TOD with UBA which was in the region of N6 billion was fully repaid in March and April 2023.
“It is public knowledge that the last allocation received by the Ikpeazu administration was for the month of April 2023.”
Ememanka challenged Otti’s administration to produce any evidence to support their claim of a N22 billion outstanding loan liability from the Ikpeazu administration.
“Like we had explained before now, the only existing liabilities are loans taken by successive administrations from the old Imo State, most of which were taken to fund critical developmental projects over the years.
“These also include bailout funds which were loans given by the Federal Government to every State in the country to support the States, with very clearly defined repayment terms which are structured in a way that the ordinary day to day business of State will not be hampered.
“May we remind them that the most critical obligation of any government is to secure the lives and property of the people? Security is a serious and capital-intensive project.
“The Otti administration should stop manufacturing excuses and fund the various security agencies in the State.
“It is on record that throughout the 8 years that Dr Okezie Ikpeazu held forte as Governor, the people of Abia State largely slept with their two eyes closed on account of the relative peace and security that prevailed across the State. These didn’t happen by giving excuses and playing blame games.”
Ememanka said that the removal of the Petroleum Subsidy by the Federal Government has increased funds available to the three tiers of Government in the country.
“For the month of May 2023, the Otti administration received N9.113 billion as allocation. This was received in June. This is the highest allocation received by the state in any single month in the last 10 years.
“Allocation for the month of June which will reach the states any moment from today is projected to be more than double of what they got last month, so the Abia State Government has no reason whatsoever not to fund Security Operations and even the legislative branch of Government.
“Finally, we wish to remind Governor Alex Otti that he was elected to solve the problems facing Abia State and not to blame Ikpeazu,” Ememanka said.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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