Benjamin Kalu, Deputy Speaker, House Of Representatives, Lied On Allocation Figures—Governor Otti

<h4>Benjamin Kalu<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<h4><&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has responded to the claim by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives&comma; Rt&period; Hon&period; Benjamin Kalu&comma; that the state receives between N38 billion and N40 billion monthly as allocation from the Federation Account&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Otti clarified that Abia’s total monthly allocation from the Federation Account Allocation Committee &lpar;FAAC&rpar;&comma; including funds for Local Governments&comma; stands at N15&period;625 billion&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Kalu had reportedly made the claim while addressing supporters at an Independence anniversary event in Umuahia&comma; where he compared the present administration’s revenue with that of past governments&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity&comma; Mr&period; Ferdinand Ekeoma&comma; Governor Otti described the figures quoted by the Deputy Speaker as inaccurate and misleading&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>According to the statement titled &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Governance in Abia&colon; Setting the Records Straight&comma;” Otti expressed concern that such figures could be circulated without proper verification&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Abia’s 2025 year-to-date FAAC allocation &lpar;<a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;vanguardngr&period;com&sol;">eight months<&sol;a>&rpar;&comma; including local governments&comma; stands at N125 billion&period; If the figure of N38 billion monthly were correct&comma; it would have amounted to about N304 billion within the same period&comma;” the statement read&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The governor explained that despite exchange rate fluctuations from N460 to the dollar in 2023 to about N1&comma;500 currently&comma; his administration has managed state finances prudently to deliver projects and pay workers&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>He further noted that the depreciation of the naira and inflation have increased the nominal value of allocations but reduced their real value due to higher project and import costs&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Governor Otti also highlighted that his administration raised the minimum wage for state workers from N30&comma;000 to N70&comma;000&comma; while expanding the state workforce through the recruitment of over 5&comma;000 teachers and additional health personnel&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Prior to 2023&comma; the number of civil servants in Abia stood at about 31&comma;000&period; Today&comma; the verified number exceeds 67&comma;000&comma; excluding newly recruited teachers&comma;” the statement added&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Otti reiterated that his administration remains focused on transparency&comma; fiscal discipline&comma; and inclusive governance&comma; urging political leaders to base public discussions on verified facts&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;He emphasized that his government welcomes constructive criticism but cautioned against spreading misinformation capable of misleading the public&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;