Wildlife Conservation: Ebonyi Denies Spending Over N1.1b, Says Publication Devoid Of Any Iota Of Truth

Wildlife Conservation: Ebonyi Denies Spending Over N1.1b, Says Publication Devoid Of Any Iota Of Truth

The Ebonyi State Government has refuted a report published in some media outlets accusing the state of spending N1.1 billion on wildlife conservation, whereas there is no zoo anywhere in the State.

In a swift reaction, the state Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Engr Jude Okpor, in a statement described the report as lacking in truth stressing that the publication was against journalism ethics.

The statement reads: “The publication is to say the least, not well researched and devoid of any iota of truth.

“The writer obviously failed to carry out adequate investigations necessary to authenticate his report.

“Without bearing any grudge or prejudice against the author of the publication, but in full understanding of his ignorance, we wish to clarify as follow:

“First, the amount N1.1b recorded against wildlife conservation is an amount meant for contingency item which the approved budget has it coded under MARGIN FOR INCREASE IN COST and not WILDLIFE CONSERVATION.

“If the author has seen it otherwise, it could probably have been a misplacement or typographic error, which the author who rightly asserted that there is no zoo in Ebonyi should have resorted to rightful authorities for clarification, in line with the ethics of journalism.

“Secondly, we wish to clarify that the Approved budget has a different template from the Quarterly Budget Implementation Report template, and at the point of population of the Quarterly report, which the said publication particularly referred to, the economic code was erroneously inputted.

“In the approved budget which the state government spends from, the said amount is under the Contingency Fund.

“There’s no actual record in the state where such an amount as reported by the media outlet was spent on wild life conservation.

That is an error in transmission”.

“We are ready and well disposed to making a copy of an extract from the state Approved budget available to any interested member of the public for reference purposes.

“It is important we use this medium to assure the people of Ebonyi State that the present administration of  His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru has remained faithful to its vow of accountability and prudence in the management of the state’s resources.

“The avalanche of developmental projects scattered across the state, covering all the sectors, and the unprecedented level of human capital development and economic empowerment of citizens of the state on regular basis bear eloquent testimonies to this administration’s commitment towards ensuring that the people’s money work for them.”