Imo State Governor Criticized for Alleged Budget Prioritization in Office Expenditure

The Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma, has come under criticism from a civil society organization, Policy Alert, for allegedly prioritizing his office over the state’s social sector budget implementation in the third quarter of 2023.

In a statement signed by its Programme Officer, Fiscal Reforms and Anti-Corruption, Faith Paulinus, Policy Alert expressed concern over the allocation of a substantial portion of the state’s budget to the Office of the Governor at the expense of critical social sectors.

The organization’s statement, released after a review of the Imo State Third Quarter Budget Performance Report 2023 (July-September), revealed that while the entire Ministries, Departments, and Agencies in the State received only N7.37bn in capital release, the Office of the Governor alone had a total expenditure of N11.84bn, which constitutes 60.6 percent of the total expenditure for the quarter.

Policy Alert highlighted that the trend of high expenditure in the Office of the Governor has been consistent throughout the year, with the office already receiving 95 percent of its budget allocation for the entire fiscal year by the third quarter.

The organization expressed concern about the zero capital release for the social sector during the quarter, which encompasses critical areas such as Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Education, Health, Youth and Social Development, Women’s Affairs, Vulnerable Groups, Agriculture, and Food Security.

Calling for a shift in focus towards the social sector, Policy Alert emphasized the need for the state government to prioritize capital expenditure over recurrent expenditure to ensure the effective delivery of social services to citizens.

It urged the government to address the imbalance in budget allocation to prevent the neglect of essential sectors vital for the well-being of the state’s residents.