Rivers Gov’t Squandered ₦144.28bn Received From Federation Account — APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has accused the Governor Siminalayi Fubara-led administration of squandering the sum of N144.28 billion received from the federation account.

The Chairman of the APC caretaker committee in the state, Chief Tony Okocha, disclosed this on Tuesday in Port Harcourt, the state capital, while speaking during a visit by the party leadership to members of the State House of Assembly.

Okocha revealed that, based on the data the party received from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), the sum was received by the state government between June 2023 and December 2023.

He expressed regrets that the amount, which is outside the ₦10 billion internally generated revenue (IGR), has not translated into action in any way in terms of development in the state.

The APC caretaker committee Chairman warned that the party will not hesitate to punish any of its members found to be involved in the ongoing squandering of the commonwealth of the people of the state.

Okocha said, “Mr. Speaker, this might sound unpalatable and annoying. We have applied and received data on the sum received by the Rivers State government from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee from June 2023 to December 2023.

“The Right Honourable Speaker, our findings revealed the whopping sum of ₦144,281,667,791.71 was received by the Rivers State government from the federation account under the current governor. This amount is outside the internally generated revenue of the state, which is estimated at ₦10 billion every month.

“We regret that this humongous amount has not translated into action in any way in terms of development in the state.

“What we see are heavily funded street processions with media presence in support of unnecessary political leanings. Fifth columnists and crisis-preneurs now feed fat on our commonwealth.

“We want to warn that as a party, we will not hesitate to punish any member of our party who is in cahoots with these looters of our commonwealth.”

Responding, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule, thanked the APC leadership for the visit, saying it will strengthen members of the House.

Amaewhule said, “Your decision to visit us here will definitely strengthen us. The Rivers State House of Assembly is pleased with you. 27 of us are in the All Progressives Congress and we are happy to be in APC.”