collecting the N26 billion bailout funds from the federal
government.
He said the monthly deductions, which will run for the next
twenty years, have drastically affected the allocation of the
state.
Stating that the state was in dire financial strait, Okorocha
explained after implementation of agreement with Labour,
which left the state with 30 percent of the allocation, the
salaries and entitlements of senior functionaries were slashed
by 35%.
He debunked insinuations that the bailout funds were diverted
or misappropriated.
The governor restated that the funds were used for payment
of salaries.
According to him: “Before we got the bailout funds, the
workers have started shouting about their salaries and we had
to borrow money from Zenith bank to pay the salaries.
“So when the fund hit our bank, it was disbursed to several
other bank accounts including the Government House Account
to pay those that were not captured in the civil service”.
Reacting to the recent invitation of his Principal Secretary, Dr
Pascal Obi, by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) over the alleged misappropriation of the
bailout fund, Okorocha said there was no big deal about it.
“EFCC is free to investigate any allegation of fraud against
anyone but that does not mean that the person in question is
guilty.”
