The Cross River State Government through her Ministry of Finance is racing round the clock to ensure that she continues to receive the monthly N400 million augumentation fund that has in the last two years accrued to her as a result of the loss of the Bakassi Peninsula to neighbouring Cameroun.
Since Monday this week, www.calitown.com government sources say a Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission team, in the state to carry out an assessment of how CR has utilized funds so far released, has kept top government officials on their toes, doing slide presentations and juggling figures. While evidence points to the fact that CRS wanted N15 billion released to it by the Federal Government to enable her address the attendant challenges that arose from the ceding of Bakassi, the FG however paid CR N6 billion in June, 2013 while the state also received the 10th instalment of the monthly N400 million at about the same time.
At the Jorany Hotels, Asari Eso, Calabar, where a good number of the team members stayed, Finance Commissioner, ‘Takis Caiafas, was spotted at the hotel, late Tuesday night, in what an observer referred to as a last ditch effort to lobby the team in CR’s favour. But another source was quick to point out that, “we do not need to lobby them, we have taken them round various on-going projects in the state and the team is convinced that the money received has been put to good use. At one point a member of the team was even telling us after a tour of the Convention Centre and the Institute of Technology and Management, ITM, Ugep, that he doesn’t know where we got the vision to put all these projects on the ground. They matched what we get and what we have on the ground and told us we are magicians, which is a plus of course”.
The team which departs Calabar today, is expected to make a case in Cross River’s favour.
Total nonsense… where is our money…