Secret Reporters No place to hide
Secrets Reporters
In stark contrast to last year’s budget, the Delta State Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Kingsley Emu, has proposed an astronomical increase in expenditure for minor works and operational vehicles.
According to details embedded in the 2024 appropriation bill, Delta State, already grappling with economic challenges and pressing issues, now finds itself at the center of a financial storm as the SSG plans to spend a staggering N85,000,000 on minor works.
The budget failed to shed insight on the ‘minor works’ that Emu, a former Commissioner for Economic Planning, intends to exert a humongous amount on this year.
A glance at the 2023 budget revealed that for the same category, a fraction of this amount, standing at N20,000,000, was earmarked for the same cause, denoting an exponential increase in funds earmarked for what should be routine and manageable.
The contentious spending spree didn’t end there as the State Secretary to the Government has perfected plans to splash N100,000,000.00 on the purchase of operational vehicles for his office and Adhoc Bodies.
This development was also contained in the budget, which was signed into law by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori.
SecretsReporters gathered that in the past year, the immediate past SSG also budgeted the same amount for the purchase of operational vehicles for his office and Adhoc Bodies.
In another eyebrow-raising move, Emu, immediate past senior economic adviser to former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, will be spending millions of Naira on security gadgets for his office.
The budget details for his office revealed that he earmarked N25,000,000.00 for the “Provision of security gadgets for SSG’s Office and Residence,” denoting a significant increase from last year’s budget for the same item.
A peep into the 2023 budget revealed that the former SSG allocated N10,000,000.00 for the provision of security gadgets for his office. Going by this, it can be deduced that the current SSG, Emu, raised the budget for the same item by over 50%.
Dr. Kingsley Emu was appointed as the Secretary to the State Government by the Governor’s Sheriff in May last year.
