Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha yesterday said he regretted collecting the N26 billion bailout fund used in settling backlogs of salaries of workers in the state.
The Governor who was 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, explained that the money was used strictly for the purpose it was meant for, contrary to what he described as the fictitious petitions of his detractors in the state.
He stated: “Before we got the bailout fund the workers had 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”.
He further said that, “EFCC is free to investigate any allegation of fraud against anyone but that does not mean that the person in question is guilty”.
The Governor however said that he regretted collecting the bailout fund, adding that, the monthly deductions which he said will run for the next twenty years, has drastically affected the allocation of the state.
He also disclosed that after the implementation of the agreement with labour, which left the state with 30% of the allocation, the salaries and entitlements of senior government officials were slashed by 35%.
Okorocha maintained that his Principal Secretary was never arrested by the EFCC, rather he was summoned based on the petition of his political detractors in the state.
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