Ngige Accuses Obi of Frittering Away over N2trn

Written by Charles Onyekamuo – ThisDay

Former governor of Anambra State and the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the November 16 governorship election in Anambra State,  Senator Chris Ngige, has alleged that there is nothing on ground to justify the over N2 trillion the Governor Peter Obi administration has received in the last seven and half years.

Ngige, who spoke in Awka, the Anambra State capital yesterday, said such huge amount of money received by the state within the period under review was simply frittered away as there is nothing tangible on the ground to show for it.

He added that for 34 months, he (Ngige) was in the saddle as governor of the state and did not receive up to N100 billion, including all receipts from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR)  and counter-part funding.

According to Ngige, the Obi administration has denied ever collecting such an amount in revenue to the state, yet it has woefully failed to publish its account for the scrutiny of Anambra people since it came into being.

“The few things I put in here have vanished. In everything I did in Anambra State, I did not spend up to N100 billion including all my receivables from Federation Account and IGR. The Government of Anambra State as at today has collected up to N2trillion. They are saying it is a lie, I said publish your account, your IGR, receivables from counterpart funding from all agencies, world Bank, DFID, UNICEF, WHO. Publish all account receivables,” Ngige said.

He cited the example of 50 percent counterpart funding for building of classroom blocks for primary and junior secondary schools in the state in conjunction with Federal Government which he said over N17billion had been paid before he left office but allegedly, nothing to show about the project today.  “Rather, the Governor Peter Obi Government has been beating its chest for providing computer sets to schools with leaking roofs,” he said.

Ngige also took a swipe at the health sector in the state, saying it had collapsed under Peter Obi’s administration, also  stressing that the Onitsha General Hospital was the only one that took him 24months to secure its accreditation as governor, which he said Obi has  lost the accreditation.

He said, there is no other hospital that has been given accreditation as most of the consultants, doctors, nurses and other health professionals employed have left, apart from the 13 months strike embarked upon by doctors in public hospitals in the state.

“Since I left, the government of Obi has not employed nurses apart from the  350, I employed, ” he said, adding that  the same thing  goes for teachers who he said were never employed under Obi.

Ngige said the scenario was not different from the tertiary institutions in Anambra State, especially the state University at Uli, which he said, he fought to get accreditation for 18 courses but today has lost accreditation of 20 courses.

“I got professors, I employed them and I was ready to pay and I paid. You don’t make a good soup without paying. Today as we speak, 20 of those courses have lost accreditation. The 23 percent that has been done by the Obi administration is not enough. They are trying but their best is not enough”.

Ngige said that all these things do not add up to the Anambra of his dream, and  emphasised that he  joined the race to change the fortunes of the people of  the state and lift them out of what he called  their present bondage.

ThisDay