Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
Anambra State Governor Prof. Chukwuma Soludo has condemned reports making rounds in some social media, alleging ‘budget-padding’ in ongoing right-sizing of the state’s budget.
Soludo in a statement released by his press secretary, Christian Aburime on Thursday, described the reports as misinformation and falsehood.
According to him, the peddlers were those who have lost out in milking the state treasury.
“These are the handiwork of losers and detractors. The misinformation should evoke pity for the purveyors in the light of the manifest ignorance boldly couriered in every paragraph of the hasty piece of distraction. Bad as it is, no credible reporter has signed this off, establishing it for what it is; lazy propaganda,” he said.
He said for clarity, government is not oblivious of the diversionary antics of those whose lucrative criminal enterprise is being smoked out by government renewed fight against all forms criminality in the state.
He said these people are housed in various camps and bushes perpetrating heinous crimes in the state.
Soludo also identified the promoters of the reports as those whose source of livelihood is government money and patronage.
According to him, with the current lack in the state, government is prioritIsing to ensure that every fund procured is deployed to building quality infrastructure, and not for consumption.
“We want to make the state a livable and prosperous smart mega city by confronting head-on the infrastructural decay.”
According to him, government has declared a state-of-emergency on Anambra roads and infrastructure.
The governor said that given priority on infrastructure development, government has allocated about 64 per cent of the capital budget and an ambitious target of flagging off at least 220km of roads as soon as the rains abate
“With this ambitious program and knowing fully, that failure does not exist in our determined minds, the detractors are at loss and are raising the battle cry with the sole aim of trying to scuttle our determination with all manners of blackmail.
“They claimed that the commissioner for works refused to appear before the state Assembly to defend the budget. This again is the figment of the imagination of the unknown writers with the intent of creating rancor between the executive and the members of the House of Assembly.
“The Commissioner for Works and infrastructure was, indeed, the first commissioner to appear before the House Committee on the first day of the budget defense exercise being 29th of June, 2022, at about 10.00AM. This is on record and was captured by the Press, “he said.
