A SaharaReporters’ review of the Ebonyi State audited financial report for the 2024 financial year has shown that a sum of N14.6billion was spent on vehicles.
According to the breakdown, which showed the top 10 capital projects embarked upon by the state, two different payments were made for the purchase of vehicles.
For instance, a sum of N6.4 billion was spent on the purchase of vehicles for government officials in the 2024 financial year.
Another sum of N8.2 billion was spent on the purchase of official vehicles for the new administration.
In total, a sum of N14.6 billion was spent on the purchase of vehicles in the 2024 financial year.
Further review shows that the state spent less on the construction of 280km of roads in 140 communities across Ebonyi State, with only N9.4 billion spent, less than the N14.6 billion spent on vehicles.
Only N1.8 billion was spent on thirty-nine 22-classroom blocks across the state, an amount also less than the expenditure on vehicles.
The construction of Abakaliki internal roads gulped N2.7 billion.
This development comes amid developmental challenges facing Ebonyi State. 71% of households in the state are said to be deprived of access to clean drinking water, while another 87% of households lack access to Sanitary facilities.
Previously, a SaharaReporters’ review of the budget performance document showed that the state budgeted the sum of N3 billion for “wildlife conservation” in the 2024 financial year.
The review shows that in the nine-month period between January and September 2024, the state spent N1.1 billion for the purpose of wildlife conservation.
The SaharaReporters’ review does show that Ebonyi State does not own a zoo.
A zoo is where animals are kept for entertainment, research, or educational purposes. Zoos are man-made habitats built to house wildlife.
It is unclear how Ebonyi State spent N1.1 billion in nine months for wildlife conservation.
The money spent is more than the N443 million spent by the state on internal security capital projects. It is also more than the N105 million spent by the Ebonyi State Road Maintenance Agency.
The money spent on “Wild-life conservation” is also more than the N200 million spent on the state’s Rural Water and Sanitation Agency.
The N1.1 billion spent on “wild-life conservation” is also more than the N314.4 million spent on the Ministry of Environment’s capital expenditure.
Only N340.8million was spent on the capital expenditure of the state-owned Ebonyi State University.
