After several months of invisible horse trading and ding-dong, the Anambra state governor Chief Willie Obiano has declared in Awka, that the Peter Obi Administration did not handed over N75 billion to it as claimed.
The Governor who spoke through the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Solo Chukwulobelu, at the Conference Hall of the Government House described the claim as untrue.
He advised the public to discountenance the claim because “it doesn’t exist”
Prof Chukwulobelu said instead the state government inherited a total contract sum of N185.1 billion as liability from the Obi administration.
According to him, what Obi handed over was N9billion in the bank, adding however that the Willie Obiano administration had not spent from that amount.
He explained that all the funds so far spent by the Governor Obiano in running the affairs of the state were strictly restricted to the fund generated by his administration.
Prof Chukwulobelu, said the explanation which was being made 19 months after the handover become pertinent because of the rumour associated with the N75 billion was gaining both in the social and traditional media.
He said “in the real sense what the Obiano administration inherited from Obi was N9billion cash and N26billion near cash”
“Based on the figures detailed above which are taken from the handover notes from the previous administration to the current administration, it is evident that the actual and voluntary cash investments made by the previous administration amounts to approximately N35.5billion consisting of mobilization paid on contracts for shopping malls and hotels, cost of two business parks in Onitsha, investments in Eurobonds, amongst a few others”
“Items such as counterpart funds held jointly with domestic development finance institutions, land contributions, FGN refunds differences in bank balances and investments made directly by the federal government on behalf of the three (3) tiers of government totaling approximately N39.5bliilon have been reclassified as “illiquid investments”“FGN receivables” and “involuntary investments”
“However, to provide a true and fair picture of the state’s net position on March 17, 2014, the investments handover notes ought to have captured current liabilities and contingent liabilities also borne by the previous administration as at the time of handover”
“To put this context, the total portfolio of inherited projects valued at approximately N185 billion was however not captured in the breakdown of the handover notes”
