Budget-padding rumours: Hatchet writers at work to distract Anambra govt – Aburime
…Says they’ll fail, their paymasters did worse
Anambra State Government has condemned the falsehood being spread in some sections of the social media, alleging ‘budget-padding’ in on-going right-sizing of the state’s budget.
A release signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor Chukwuma Soludo, Christian Aburime dismissed the misinformation and described it as “losers and detractors at work.’’
“The misinformation”, he noted, “should evoke pity for the purveyors in the light of the manifest ignorance boldly couriered in every paragraph of the hasty piece of distraction. Bad as it is, no credible reporter has signed this off, establishing it for what it is; lazy propaganda.”
Explaining the development, Mr. Aburime said, “for clarity, it is important we state that we are not oblivious of the diversionary antics of those whose lucrative criminal enterprise is being smoked out by our renewed fight against all forms criminality in the state, housed in various camps and bushes perpetrating heinous crimes.”
He identified the promoters of the report as those whose source of livelihood is government money and patronage as a result of free oil money which sadly has stopped coming given the paucity of revenues coming from Abuja currently, to even fund infrastructural development.”
According to him, given the current lack, Anambra is prioritising to ensure that every fund it procures is deployed to building quality infrastructure, and not for consumption and to make the state “a livable and prosperous smart mega city by confronting head-on the infrastructural decay” such as in the area of roads that is clearly in deplorable situation.
Given this, Governor Soludo has declared a state-of-emergency on Anambra roads. Hence there is an “unprecedented allocation of about 64 per cent of the capital budget and an ambitious target of flagging off at least 220km of roads as soon as the rains abate; with this ambitious program and knowing fully, that failure does not exist in our determined minds, the detractors are at loss and are raising the battle cry with the sole aim of trying to scuttle our determination with all manners of blackmail.
“They claimed that the commissioner for works refused to appear before the state Assembly to defend the budget. This again is the figment of the imagination of the unknown writers with the intent of creating rancor between the executive and the members of the House of Assembly. The Commissioner for Works and infrastructure was, indeed, the first commissioner to appear before the House Committee on the first day of the budget defense exercise being 29th of June, 2022 at about 10.00AM. This is on record and was captured by the Press.”
Continuing, the governor’s aide stated: “On the cost of road per kilometer, it is funny that the “Unknown Writer” like his counterpart, the “unknown gunmen”, is using propaganda and deceit to hoodwink the unsuspecting public. How do you start talking about the cost of contract for roads currently being designed and contract not awarded? Very funny! Of course people always judge others by their own standards.
“Since the “unknown writer” made dubious comparisons to previous administrations, it is important that we place on record for the purposes of Ndi Anambra who employed us and to whom we are accountable, that the previous administrations awarded roads with the cost per kilometer varying from above One Billion Naira per kilometer to a little over Two Hundred Million naira per kilometer when diesel was about One Hundred and Twenty naira (N120) per liter and asphalt was about Eighteen Thousand naira (N18,000) per ton. Of course, cost per kilometer depends on several factors including the topography, soil texture, design, stone base or just on laterite, overall quality etc.
“Examples of the roads awarded by our predecessors and their costs per kilometer include but not limited to:
Construction of:
*Awkuzu-Nteje-Umueri Airport Road
Length of road 5.2Km
Date awarded: 2015
Award Sum: N6,550,000,000.00
Cost Per Kilometer: N1,259,615,384.61
*Construction of Section 2 Nmiata- Nzam Road
Lenght of Road: 10.5km
Date Awarded December,2014
Award Sum N10,030,992,206.44.
Cost per kilometer N980,952,380.95
*Construction of Afor Oroma-Umudora – Umuikwu-Onono with spur to Umueze Anam/Nzam/Kogi federal high way road.
Length: 18.518Km
Date of Award: April 2018
Award Sum: N5,592,438,115.69
Cost per Kilometer N302,000,114.25
*Amansea-Ebenebe-Ugbenu-Ugbene-Awba Ofemili
Length: 26Km
Date of award: 2009
Award Sum: N7,816,193,590.63
Cost per kilometer N300,622,830.41
* Rehabilitation of Upper Iweka-Zik roundabout and Amawbia roundabout-Amansea Bridge
Length: 23.47Km
Date of Award : 2012/2013
Award Sum:N10,636,799,741.81
Cost per Kilometer: N462,469,553.99
*Ajali-Akpo-Nawfija-Ufuma Ogbunka Road
Length: 16.2Km
Date of Award: 2017
Award Sum:N6,509,966,773.51
Cost per Kilometer N408,022,640.34
*Construction of Ukwuoji-Awka-Umuelechi Villiage-Ifite Nibo-Isiagu Road
Length: 2.9km
Date of Award: 2017
Award Sum:N608,570,640.25
Cost per Kilometer N208, 058,338
“These are samples of roads awarded between 2009 and 2018, none of them cost less than N200,000,000.00 per kilometer at a time when price of diesel was about N120/liter and asphalt was about or less than N18,000 per ton.
“It is also on record that none of our predecessors awarded any road for less than Two Hundred Million Naira per Kilometer.
Comparatively, these basic costs of major materials for road construction now stands as follows:
*Diesel N850/Liter,
*Asphalt N65,000/ton currently in 2022 and the cost as of 2018 and below.
“This shows an increase of over 708% for diesel and 361% for asphalt, making it almost impossible to get any standard or durable road at N200,000,000 per kilometer that can be guaranteed to last more than 15 years with heavy traffic as in most parts of Anambra.
“Of course, one can even get a road for less than One hundred Million Naira by spreading sand and lean asphalt on it to be washed away within one raining season. Fortunately, this is not the Soludo standard. Soludo promised and will deliver quality roads to Ndi Anambra at the cheapest price possible.
“The losers of the new order will continue to try desperate acts to fight back but we remain focused on doing the people’s work. During the dry season, Ndi Anambra will see the mass action on their roads and Anambra will continue to win.”
