Ondo State Government, yesterday, debunked the alleged claim that the state governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, spent N7.3 billion meant for palliatives without the approval of the House of Assembly.
The state government, which described the media report that the money was spent between July and September when the governor was on medical vacation as untrue, said that the contingency funds were not used for the governor’s health.
In a statement by Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Richard Olatunde, the contingency funds were designed to address emergency expenditures not provided for in the current year’s appropriation law but crucial to the public interest and requiring immediate attention.
The statement reads in part: “We have read the report published on the Sahara Reporters news platform claiming that the Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, spent N7.3 billion in three months while he was on medical vacation.
“In response to the concerns raised across various social media platforms, we wish to provide clarification for the sake of transparency and accountability, which are values synonymous with the Akeredolu-led administration”.
“It is important to state unequivocally that the referenced N7.3 billion constituted the cumulative amount of palliative funds received from the Federal Government. These funds were allocated under the contingency sub-heading to address unforeseen expenses not initially budgeted for but deemed necessary during the fiscal year”.
