Abia depends on loans to finance 2024 budget – Gov

Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has said the state’s 400bn loans should be reduced to the barest minimum if the state’s Internally Generated Revenue is carefully crafted.

Otti said this on Saturday at a special presentation of the outcome of the state’s two-day retreat for IGR stakeholders in Ministries and Departments in the state.

Otii also charged the participants to craft an enduring strategy that would lead to improvement in the state’s IGR to make the state fiscally viable.

Otti said, “Two weeks ago, the first round of the retreat took place in Umuahia. A lot of progress was made, but much is to be done. Government expectations are great revenue. What you have in your state is what you use to run your state”.

He added that in other climes, the government-generated income is used to run the economy, stating that it was a misnomer for subnationals to go to the centre cap in hand for allocations.

The governor said, “A large chunk of the 2024 budget is to be financed by loans and advances. I believe that at the end of the year, we will not borrow as much as put in the budget. If we do what we should do and we do it right, then there is no reason why the over 400 billion that is supposed to be raised as loans should not be reduced to the barest minimum.

“So, we expect a situation where our IGT would spike up and take over our provisions for loans. We believe that by the end of the year, we will not have borrowed as much money as we had put in the budget.”

Speaking on stopping the payment of entitlements to former governors and deputy governors, he said he believed he made the right decision.

“Very soon, my deputy and I would also be ‘former’.  So, the new policy is not targeted at anyone. It is for good governance and reduction in the cost of governance. Quite frankly, we believe it is the right thing to do.

“We don’t believe that politics is a business. We believe that people should have things they are doing before coming to serve. And if you have offered yourself to serve, then you should be willing to make the required sacrifices.

“If you find yourself in this place, you should count yourself lucky that people believe in you, and give you their support and their votes. It is a privilege, and the least that is expected of you is to make sacrifices for the betterment of the state. So, the days of sharing money are over. The days of blood tonic politics are also over. This is the time to make sacrifices for the interest of the state.”