HOW GOVERNOR OTTI SPENT N11.26BN TO DEFEAT 'TERRORISM IN WAR-RAVAGED ABIA' IN HIS 9 MONTHS IN OFFICE!

Governor Otti started off brightly by  introducing  a few initiatives to improve the security landscape of the state, which was relatively stable when compared to neighbouring states and the country as a whole.

SECURITY INITIATIVES

Operation Crush - In August 2023, Dr Otti launched a multi-agency anti-crime security taskforce tagged Operation Crush, and donated 20 Toyota Hilux patrol vans to the outfit on the day of the launch. 

Lokpanta Cattle Market - October 2023, Governor Otti removed the residential status of the notorious Lokpanta cattle market, due to the increasing threats to public safety noted in the Uturu and Lokpanta axes.  

Revenue Touts - Earlier in June 2023, the governor banned the activities of revenue collection touts that were operating in the state, and went on in August 2023 and set up a harmonised taskforce (AHARET) to get rid of the touts from the streets of Abia. Revenue touts have historically been a menace to motorists and continue to pose security threats to citizens and businesses in the state. 

While the above are very good initiatives,  the associated costs will make one believe that Abia was facing a force bigger than ISIS & Boko Haram combined.

COST OF PUBLIC ORDER & SAFETY

According to the Budget Performance Reports of Q3 2023 to Q1 2024 published on Abia Government's website, Governor Otti spent N11.26bn on Public Order and Safety in the 9 months of July 2023 to March 2024, which is about 10% of the total revenue of N117bn Abia State earned within the period.

NOTE: Loans taken by the government and LGA revenues have not been included in the total revenue of N117bn. Only FAAC Allocations and Capital Receipts earned by the State have been considered.

Breakdown of Expense on Security

 As shown in the chart below, about N5.2bn of the N11.26bn was  spent on the judiciary (4.44% of the total state revenue), while about N6bn was spent on Security (5% of the total state revenue), while N634.5m (0.54% of total state revenue) was spent on Police Services , which includes the state-owned Homeland Security Services .

Many Abians have continued  to question the security threats that Abia faced during the period, and the actions the governor took that warranted such high level of spend on security, for a state that is not responsible for the payment of the wages of its armed forces. It is generally known that the Federal Government pays the salaries of the Army, Navy, Police, Civil Defence and DSS personnel.

Comparison with Nigeria & Other Countries

The United States, which has the largest military presence in different parts of the world spent only 13.3% of their 2023 budget on defence, while Nigeria  allocated 12% of the 2024 budget to defence and security. Therefore, Governor Otti's 10% spend on security is really alarming, given that his government is not responsible for the state's defence spending, but only provides support to the security agents posted to the state.

Comparison with Nigerian States

The table and graphs below show that while a war-ravaged Borno State with N10bn more revenue than Abia spent only N1.1bn on Security in 9 months (0.86% of their total revenue), Governor Otti spent about N6bn on Security during the same period (5% of Abia’s revenue). The table & graph equally highlight that Governor Otti's 5% spend on Security is the highest among the states considered, many of which are facing severe security issues.

Security Vote  

Despite fiercely criticising his predecessor for accessing the discretionary and unaccounted-for Security Vote, and making numerous promises that he will not access Security Vote when elected, Governor Otti ended up spending N4.48bn on Security Vote in 9 months, i.e. N500m per month (3.82% of the state's revenue).  The big question remains what the funds for Security Vote were used for, since the governor equally spent N634.5m on Police Services, which ideally should cover almost all the expenses made in launching Operation Crush. As shown in the table and graph below, Governor Otti outspent almost all the governors in Nigeria on Security Vote. This has continued to raise questions among Abians.

Otti vs Soludo  

Considering that Abia and Anambra are commercial environments within the same region, it becomes attractive to compare how both states are faring in terms of security performance. Although Anambra is populated by 2.5 million more people than Abia, and also earned N43bn more than Abia in the months of July 2023 to March 2024, the chart below shows that Governor Otti outspent Governor Soludo on Security Vote by more than N4.4bn, leaving many Abians wondering if Abia was waging a war during the period.

Judiciary

As shown in the graph below, Governor Otti spent  N5.2bn on Abia Judiciary in the 9 months of July 2023 to March 2024, of which N2.14bn  went to capital projects . The big question on the lips of Abians remains what capital projects were completed by his government in the judiciary during the period with the sum of N2.14bn, apart from the few vehicles he donated to the judiciary. There is no report of any ongoing constructed or rehabilitated law courts since the governor came to power.

SECURITY OUTCOMES

While some success has been achieved by the government in lowering the regularity of violent crimes  at the Lokpanta & Uturu areas,  many Abians have expressed concerns about the impact the N11.26bn spend on public safety has brought to the state.  The success of the other interventions made by Governor Otti's regime has been regularly questioned as  there are still cases of major violent crimes in other parts of the state, especially the repeated killing of security officers at Aba by unknown gunmen, and other events of kidnapping. There are also concerns that Governor Otti's spend on security should be seen only in a state facing a war.

It is therefore, very important that Governor Otti begins to lower his cost of governance, which many argue to looking a bit excessive, especially when many Abians are wallowing in abject poverty.

Sources of Data: 

1. Abia State Budget Performance Report Quarter 1 2024 q Abia State Budget Performance Report Quarter 4 2023
2. Abia State Budget Performance Report Quarter 3 2023
3.  Enugu State Budget Performance Report Quarter 1 2024 
4. Akwa Ibom State Budget Performance Report Quarter 1 2024
5. Anambra State Budget Performance Report Quarter 1 2024
6. Quarterly Budget Performance Reports of Anambra, Imo, Lagos, Benue, Borno, Delta, Akwa Ibom & Rivers States. 
7. KPMG-Final-Report-on-the-Provision-of-Process-Review-Services-ABSG
8. Abia State 2024 Citizens Budget
9. Abia State 2023 Debt Sustainability Analysis/ Debt Management Strategy (DSA-DMS) Report
10. Various Newspaper Publications & Public Opinion across Social Media Platforms.
11. Accountant General Reports for Abia State (2017 to 2023)