A few days after his inauguration, Governor of Anambra state, Professor Chukwuma Soludo cried out over the impoverished state of the state’s treasury.
Speaking in an interview with Arise News, Soludo said he inherited almost an empty treasury with debts running into hundreds of billions.
“In terms of debt I inherited, it runs into hundreds of billions of naira. In terms of cash, we met about 300 million naira only. In fact, let’s not talk about it. Our treasury is funny. But I hope we shall make money henceforth to help us fulfill our promises for infrastructure and development of the state. But in terms of what I met in our coffers, my brother, it’s pathetic. Please, let us not go there, God will help us,” the governor said.
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Soludo said the audited statement published December 31st, which is a matter of public record, indicates that Anambra State is in debt to at least, the tune of N109 billion. He explained that the fund available to the state is about N300 million to N400 million, but that however, the fund is the baseline as they would need to look into other contingencies like contractor debts, draw the line from there and then move on.
The interview came on the heels of his predecessor, Willie Obiano’s arrest by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Obiano’s administration was riddled with allegations of malfeasance. He was accused of not only squandering the huge fund he inherited from his predecessor Peter Obi, but also borrowed fund, internally generated revenue and funds from the monthly federal allocation, FAAC.
The EFCC has accused Obiano of misappropriating N5 billion Sure-P fund in addition to N37 billion security votes withdrawn in cash.
This development poses a big challenge to Soludo’s administration that is widely believed to be the panacea to Obiano’s widely criticized eight-year administration.
Anambra State is largely underdeveloped and has been starved of sincere leadership for long. It is said that a change in the status quo began when former Anambra State governor, Chris Ngige, who was in office from 2003 to 2006, defied the unscrupulous elements holding the state to ransom. His successor Peter Obi followed suit, leaving as much as N75 billion behind in the state’s treasury. The footsteps believed that Obiano should have followed.
Soludo has promised to effect the needed changes in Anambra, by using the state’s funds judiciously.
“I pledge here again to devote every kobo of your tax money to work for you. This is your government. I am only your employee. I commit to a transparent, accountable, judicious, and impactful use of your tax money,” the governor had tweeted.
As the first step in walking his talk, Soludo has halted all revenue collection in Anambra, with the aim of blocking revenue leakages that only enrich the corrupt. It is hoped that Soludo will be able to generate enough revenue to shoulder the hefty responsibilities he has inherited.