WRITTEN BY GORDI UDEAJAH
A self proclaimed good governance sustenance advocate Group in Abia state called ‘Abia For Sustenance Of Good Governance ( ASGG )’ has cautioned and warned the Deputy Speaker ( DS ) of the house of representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu of the APC, against using his position, and through his unguarded false utterances pitch the Abia state government led by Governor Alex Otti , against the APC-led federal government of President Bola Tinubu.
Hon Kalu who represents Bende Constituency of Abia state and president Tinubu are members of the APC, while the Abia state government is led by governor Alex Otti of the Labour Party.
ASGG declared the warning yesterday when it addressed a world press conference in Umuahia, the State Capital, and reacted to Hon Kalu’s allegations that governor Otti has not expended the N38 – N40 billion state monthly resources /income comensurately with what he has done.
Kalu also said that governor Otti has not been acknowledging the president Tinubu/federal government’s contribution to Abia state development, and threatened to dislodge the Otti administration in 2027.
The ASGG Leader Mr Dannie Ubani, who presided over the conference, described Kalu’s utterances as tantamount to “inciting a non-existent war of attrition between the governor of Abia state and our very dear President with the vain aim of leveraging on it to further selfish political ambitions” stating that Hon Kalu’s very unpatriotic actions, would be stoutly resisted by Abians.
He maintained that governor Otti and president Tinubu and their led governments enjoyed very cordial relations.
The group therefore enjoined the DS to stop his cowardly acts , including releasing ‘imaginary figures’ of the state income stating that doing so is capable of igniting avoidable conflagration, arguing that ” a situation where supposed statesmen would deliberately fan the ambers of conflicts between the state government and the presidency in furtherance of their selfish political ambitions at the expense of peace and stability, should be condemned, and is hereby condemned.”
Faulting the Deputy Speaker for saying that Abia State government was receiving ₦38 – N40 billion monthly, Ubani asserted that available figures put the average monthly earnings of the state at ₦14 billion.
“We have been able to interrogate the assertion that Abia appropriates an average of 38 billion naira every other 28 days.
“From the statistical data available by FAAC, the total accruals to Abia State in the last FAAC update is 98 billion, 120 million naira only, which is a monthly average of 14 billion naira as against the monthly 38 billion naira being touted by people who by virtue of their positions should know.”
The group consequently called on those it referred to as political combatants to withhold their swords to prevent derailing the government, arguing that politics should not be played at the expense of the peace and stability of the state.
“We are not saying that whatever ambition the DS has is not valid. But we are saying that the state governor should not be set up against the president, with the ambition of his leveraging on the fracas to launch his ambition, and at the same time, pitch the Abia populace against the government by trumpeting malicious, unfounded and outrageous figures.”
Ubani, argued that Governor Otti whom he said won back public confidence through the implementation of programmes and policies that have catalysed to socio-economic growth, cannot justifiably be said to be liable to financial malfeasance.
