Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State says the value of the investment of one of his predecessor, Peter Obi, in the state is currently next to nothing.
Mr Soludo stated this when he featured on Channels TV Thursday night to dissect the 2023 budget he presented to the State House of Assembly.
He described as speculation the claim of Mr Obi that his investments on behalf of the state while he was governor from 2006 to 2014 were yielding dividends.
Willie Obiano who handed over power to the Soludo had admitted that some of his legacy projects, including the Anambra International Cargo Airport, were funded from the investment he inherited from Mr Obi.
“I think there was something I read about somebody speculating about whatever investment,” the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) governor said. “With what I’ve seen today, the value of those investments is worth next to nothing.”
Budget of acceleration
The governor’s remarks come after he presented the N258.97 billion 2023 budget to the House of Assembly chambers in Awka.
The budget christened, the budget of acceleration” recorded a raise from the N170 billion revised 2022 budget presented by Soludo in May.
During the presentation, he said that the 2023 budget embodied his administration’s “single-minded focus and determination to continue to press the accelerator pedals in spite of the risky bumps on the way”.
The budget has a capital expenditure of N164 billion, accounting for 63.2 percent, while recurrent expenditure at N95.5 billion accounts for 36.8 percent, representing a budget deficit of N13 billion.
According to the governor, about N91.8 billion, representing 56 percent of the total capital expenditure, was devoted to land transport, power generation, and urban reintegration.
