Obiano, who made the appeal at a forum to mark his 18 months in office at the governor’s Lodge, Amawbia, at the weekend said the amount, if refunded, would go a long way in reducing the mounting obligations faced by his government.
He noted that while some other state governors, excluding Anambra, are swimming in billions of naira occasioned by the Federal Government’s bail out on account of their inability to pay salaries, Anambra, which adopted other creative means to pay salaries and meet other pressing needs, is being owed such a huge sum of money in the midst of dwindling federal allocations and internally generated revenues.
According to him, the federal government has promised to look into his demand, and expressed optimism that the refund would be made.
The governor said on assumption of office, he discovered that many cheques issued in the twilight of his predecessor’s tenure were flying about, prompting him to freeze the account until the matter was streamlined, adding that a forensic audit he ordered in the state public service exposed about 520 ghost workers
He added that the savings from the loopholes, aggressive revenue generation drive as well as investment inflow occasioning secured environment accounted for the buoyancy of the state and its ability to pay salaries and meet other obligations.
The governor said prior to the Federal Government’s directive on Treasury Single Account (TSA), his administration had already operated a single account as against 150 accounts in operation in the state when he assumed office barely 18 months ago.
