My State is Broke – Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha Confesses

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo state has declared his state bankrupt, as its monthly wage bill has outstripped its monthly statutory allocation from the Federal Government. The governor said the monthly servicing of the bailout fund has further compounded the situation.

Okorocha, who revealed this when he spoke to newsmen at the Government House in Owerri said the monthly wage of the state had always been higher than what the state receives from federal allocations and internally generated revenue.

“The monthly wage bill of the state is N4.2 billion which is far higher than what we receive from federal allocation including the internally generated revenue which means that the state government has always been operating on a deficit. As at December 31, 2015 the state received N1.9 billion from the Federal Government while the monthly wage bill of the state for the same period was N4.2 billion.

“We cannot continue to patch a cracked wall as if all is well, we need to break it down in order to rebuild it, and the current wage bill of the state is beyond our capacity. Imo State now receives the least allocation among the South-East states because of the monthly repayment of the bailout fund which the state took from the Federal Government, a situation which has further compounded the financial situation of the state.” The governor insisted that in spite of the financial dilemma of the state, no worker is being owed any salary.