Governor Alex Otti of Abia has addressed the confusion surrounding the allocation of N1.5 billion for the acquisition of two Hilux vans in the state’s 2024 budget.
Oti explained that the mistake was due to a software malfunction in the Excel program used to create the budget document.
The governor clarified this during a press conference where he responded to inquiries from journalists.
An online news platform had previously reported that the state government had allocated N1.5 billion for the purchase of “two Toyota Hilux” vans.
In the report, it was stated that the budget breakdown included N5,946,756,437 for motor vehicles, N2,704,980,600 for vans, N949,000,000 for trucks, and N3,011,804,906 for buses.
The governor, while speaking at Eziukwu Road Market in Aba, visited to offer condolences to traders who lost their goods in a fire incident. He mentioned that he personally verified the figures in the report and discovered a mistake had been made.
“When I saw that report, I knew something was wrong. I knew it could either be the units or the price. So, I called the Commissioner for Budget and Planning and asked him to check it out and call me back.
“He did and reported that it was neither the units nor the price that was wrong, but the Excel. If you use Excel and the formula is not very right on a particular line, you’re bound to have a problem like that. It’s a mistake that has been corrected.
“I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. The overall numbers are correct, and the figure of N1.5 billion was N150 million; two units of Hilux vans at N75 million each will give you N150 million; that’s the correct number,” Otti clarified.
