Abia PDP Challenges Gov Otti’s Administration on N11.5 Billion Education Expenditure, Says There’s Nothing to Substantiate Bogus Amounts | #NwokeukwuMascot

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Abia PDP Challenges Governor Otti on Alleged N11.5 Billion Education Expenditure | #NwokeuwkuMascot

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The Abia State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has issued a scathing critique of Governor Alex Otti’s administration, questioning the veracity of its reported N11.5 billion expenditure on the education sector. This statement comes in the wake of the State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability, and Sustainability (SEFTAS) report published on the Abia State website, which details the spending allocations but lacks tangible evidence of the purported projects.

Hon. Abraham Amah, the Vice Chairman and Acting State Publicity Secretary of the Abia PDP, in the press release titled “ALEX OTTI AND THE UNVERIFIABLE N11.5B EXPENDITURE ON THE EDUCATION SECTOR.” accused the Otti’s administration of using the education budget as a conduit for siphoning state funds instead of investing in meaningful projects.

The statement reads in full: “According to reports published in the State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability, and Sustainability (SEFTAS report on the Abia State website, Governor Alex Otti spent N11.5b on the education sector, out of which N8.5b was spent on capital projects, with N4.57b directly spent on the construction and rehabilitation of public schools between July 2023 and March 2024. It is not clear what the remaining N3.93b was spent on since it was not captured in the report. 

“Ordinarily, this should be a thing of joy to Abians who understand the overarching importance of education as one of the three pillats and indicators of the Human Development Index (HDI),  which measures the average achievements made by governments in securing a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable, and a decent standard of living for their citizens. Unfortunately, that is not the case in Abia State, where no Abian or outsider can point a finger to or locate one of the numerous projects where such a huge amount of money was supposedly spent. 

“To bring the deception closer home, Abians are yet to see any new school building constructed by the Alex Otti government, or a rehabilitated school building in any of the 17 local government areas of the state, nor has the state government given out scholarships, either local or foreign, to Abia indigenes at any level of education. Worse still, nothing shows that the learning system and environment in Abia have improved because of the huge sum spent on the sector, even as the training and retraining of teachers, the deployment of teaching aids, or a revised curriculum that will bring about such changes in the learning environment of schools in the state are yet to happen. 

“The Abia PDP is not surprised at such a graphic display of insincerity and kleptocracy on the part of the Alex Otti government because it has become typical for it to make extravagant claims that are not only unverifiable but also insulting to the collective intelligence of Abians. The education sector is not alone in this malfeasance, as other sectors like agriculture, science and technology, information, health, and social welfare, among many others, have all claimed such whopping amounts of money without anything on the ground to show for such sums, let alone being insignificant. 

“Last week, two commissioners in the Alex Otti cabinet, the commissioners for agriculture and science and technology, resigned their apponitments due to irreconcilable differences relating to the huge sums of money, N4.7b and N2.6b, respectively, purportedly spent by the government under their ministries without their knowledge, and for which the governor could not offer any explanations. 

“It should be very concerning to Abians that such perfidy found in other sectors in Abia has boldly walked into the education sector in Abia State, a sector that has always been the pride and glory of the state up until the recent past. This must not go unchallenged because any effort to destroy the fabric of Abia education, as the present government is working hard to do, is an effort to destroy what is left of our dignity, conscience, and soul as a people.”

The party concluded by challenging the Labour Party-led Abia State government to make public the list of schools they have either constructed, rehabilitated, or are currently working on with the alleged funds amidst economic challenges. The PDP also used the opportunity to call on well-meaning Abians to join them in this fight against the injustice in the state education sector, which they described as a direct attack on the future of Abia.

“The Abia PDP challenges Alex Otti to provide a list of the schools that were either constructed, rehabilitated, or currently under construction or rehabilitation, teaching aids and materials the said money were spent on, and a program to upskill and retool the teaching staff and improve the learning environment for Abians to verify; otherwise, he should return the money already signed off from Abia coffers and use it to retrofit the dwindling education infrastructure that has become a sore in the image of the state since the inception of this administration. 

“The Abia PDP calls on Abians of good conscience to prevail upon Governor Alex Otti to revive the state’s education system, which is falling precipitously under his watch. PDP: Power to the People!” Abia pdp concluded.