The Rivers State Government has put the total money received from the Federation Account between January and December, 2014, at N199,286,899,374.40.
Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs Ibim Semenitari, who disclosed this in a release made available to The Tide yesterday in Port Harcourt, also put the current debt profile of the state at less than N23 billion.
Mrs Semenitari, who was reacting to allegations by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governorship candidate, Chief Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike, also denied allegation that the State government borrowed N10 billion from Guaranty Trust bank in 2014, explaining that the government only entered into a refinancing of the outstanding facility from GT Bank by Fidelity Bank Plc.
“It is also important to draw a distinction between drawing on an existing loan facility and obtaining a fresh loan.
“There have been allusions and references to withdrawals (and deployment of funds) from the mandatory monthly savings of the State – the Reserve Fund.
“Implicit in the reference is the fact that the administration of Governor Chibuike Amaechi does not believe in consuming every revenue accuring to it which is a mark of prudence which the people of the state should be proud of, and demand its sustenance by future administrations of the state”, she said.
The Commissioner also denied that the government looted N60 billion from the Treasury as at December 2014, noting that as at December 2014, the government did not have such amount in the treasury.
Semenitari, who said that the Abonnema-Obonnoma bridge is 94 percent completed, also said that the greater part of the infrastructure for the take-off of phase IB of the Monorail project has been addressed in phase 1A, adding that the monies so far released to the project in 2014 were in line with the plan for the project.
On the sale of power plants and power stabilization, the Commissioner said that the government sought private sector operators and sold 70 percent equity stake in the power generating assets company to NG power HPs.
She also denied that the government gave N72 million to APC for its candidate’s trip to London, while N6 billion was not released to Government House on January 6, 2014 as alleged.
APC Presidential candidate, Gen Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) fielding questions from journalists at Chatham House, London, yesterday. With him are Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (right) and other party leaders