The Akwa Ibom
State Government yesterday denied being broke as recently reported in the media, saying such insinuations were baseless and outrageous.
The Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Akan Okon, who refuted the claim in Uyo during a chat with journalists said the government expressed serious concern about such misinformation.
He said the report was capable of undermining the efforts of the present administration which had demonstrated transparency, accountability and due process in the management of the state’s resources to actualise its uncommon transformation initiative.
Okon said it was wrong to peddle such news as the state government had not failed to live up to its financial responsibilities to the people like, paying salaries and other entitlements to its workers promptly, and also settling its contractual liabilities.
On the purported N135 billion from federal allocation between January to June, the commissioner explained that it was a far cry from the over N400billion that was appropriated in the 2014 budget.
The 2014 budget, he said, was for the actualisation of key projects dotting the landscape of the state which were capital intensive and gulping billions of naira.
He said government’s desire was to do much more than it had done for the people, but regretted that the consistent shortfall in its expected revenue had made it expedient for it to realign its priorities by deploying available funds into specific competing areas of needs to add value to the life of the people.
He also disclosed that in view of the need to look inward, government had put in place a framework to improve its internal revenue generation capacity to cushion the effect of the drop in its statutory allocation from federation account.
According to him, the state Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, is a man that believes so much in his people, and has done his best to reposition the state in the last seven years by ensuring that certain parameters in development are met.
He added that the governor deserves commendation, calling on the media to be objective in their reportage so as to avoid heating the polity.
Gbenemene of Tai Kingdom, President Supreme Council of Ogoni Traditional Rulers and Chairman Rivers State Council of Traditional Ruters, King Godwin N.K. Gininwa (left), with his Chief of Staff and Gbenemene Mene, Samuel Nnee (right) during the thanksgiving service to mark the 75 years Birthday of King Giniwa in Port Harcourt, recently.
