Ikonne Demands Evidence from Gov Otti Over N54bn School Renovation, Calls for Focus

Prince Paul Ikonne, a prominent APC figure in Abia State, has called on Governor Alex Otti to stop “distracting the people with contradictions” and provide clear answers about the alleged missing N54 billion meant for school renovations.

The controversy follows Governor Otti’s recent dismissal of claims that N54 billion is missing from the state treasury, labeling the allegations as baseless and stemming from ignorance about government budgeting.

Ikonne, however, questioned why the governor—who claims to have “seasoned accountants” in his team—would contradict official state budget records, which indicate that N54.066 billion was spent on public school rehabilitation in the last quarter of 2024 alone, with a total of N58.323 billion spent for the entire fiscal year.

He also recalled a previous N18 billion school renovation fund that yielded no visible results, casting further doubt on the current expenditure claims.

Ikonne urged Governor Otti to clarify why his administration’s own budget documents contradict the governor’s assertion that only N2.1 billion was spent on schools, highlighting that the 2024 approved budget allocated N64.7 billion for renovating 51 schools—an average of about N1.26 billion per school.

“This data makes it clear that the governor is either deliberately misleading Abians or unaware of what his government is signing off on,” Ikonne stated.

He called on the governor to “stop hiding behind semantics” and instead provide concrete evidence, insisting that citizens are demanding accountability, not excuses.