Abia Government Fires Back: “We Got ₦125 Billion in 8 Months, Not ₦304 Bn” Slams Deputy Speaker Kalu’s Claim

Umuahia, Nigeria – October 6, 2025

The Abia State Government has forcefully rejected recent claims by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, claiming that Abia state has been receiving ₦304 billion in federal allocations over the past eight months.

In a statement issued Monday, the state government insists that it actually received about ₦125 billion during that period less than half of Kalu’s figure.

Kalu, speaking over the weekend, alleged that Abia’s allocations from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) had surged to between ₦38 billion and ₦40 billion monthly, implying that the eight-month total reached as high as ₦304 billion.

The state government, however, contends that Kalu’s numbers are patently inflated. According to their records, the cumulative allocation over the eight months stands at ₦125 billion, equivalent to roughly ₦15.6 billion per month on average. The government’s rebuttal accuses Kalu of misrepresenting data for political expediency.

This clash occurs against a backdrop of rising tension between the Labour Party–led state administration under Governor Alex Otti and the federal legislators from the state, especially as elections approach in 2027.

Kalu’s statement also carried political overtones: he declared that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would “take over Abia in 2027” and pressed the current administration to show that it is making the most of federal allocations. He argued that former governors, working with far less funding, were expected to be compared with an administration receiving tens of billions per month.

The state government’s rebuttal, meanwhile, frames Kalu’s claim as an effort to mislead the public and undermine the current administration’s fiscal credibility.