Obinna Oriaku, a former Commissioner for Finance in Abia State, has responded to a claim made by the current Commissioner, Mike Akpara, regarding monthly entitlements for commissioners. During a radio program on Love FM Umuahia, "Open Parliament" with Vivian Chima, Akpara admitted that he receives a monthly overhead of N10 million, stating that he is continuing the tradition of his predecessors.
Oriaku has vehemently refuted this claim, stating that he only received N500,000 as commissioner from 2015 to 2019. He challenged Akpara to investigate and publish any voucher showing that he earned more than N500,000 as commissioner.
The former Commissioner explained that he offered 'pro bono' service to the state, with his salary paid by First Bank Ltd., where he was on secondment. He highlighted his role in reducing costs, including slashing the cost of attending FAAC meetings from N1.6 million to N500,000 over four years. He also reduced the executive council allowance from N1 million to N500,000, reflecting the economic realities of the recession at the time. He also noted that the salary of the former Governor was slashed by 50%.
Oriaku emphasized that the salary for commissioners remained at N196,000 until 2023, and the Executive Council allowance was sustained at N500,000 even after he left office in June 2019. He deemed it "preposterous and absolutely misleading" for Akpara to justify his N10 million monthly salary based on a supposed tradition.
He urged Akpara to desist from generalizing and making misleading claims, emphasizing the importance of transparency and integrity in public office. He commended Akpara for coming forward to answer questions but encouraged him to be truthful and avoid misrepresenting the past for pecuniary reasons.
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Politics