A review of the budget performance document for first and second quarters of 2024 in Ekiti State has shown that a total of N1.415 billion was spent on purchasing 40 GAC SUV for 40 political office holders.

The expenditure was incurred between April and June 2024, based on details published on budget performance reports of the state.

With 40 political office holders getting a GAC SUV worth N1.451 billion, it would mean that on the average the cost of each vehicle stood at N36million for each beneficiary.

The development comes even as Ekiti Sstate domestic debt profile stands at N57 billion as of the first quarter of 2024.

Ekiti State spent an equivalent 22% of the money it generated internally in the second quarter of 2024 on SUV vehicles.

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In the second quarter of the year, the internally generated revenue stood at N6.331 billion. With the vehicle purchase gulping N1.451 billion, it would mean that 22% of the IGR generated went to 40 political office holders.

The state spent more on GAC SUV for forty political holders in the second quarter of 2024, than the capital expenditure it spent for health and human services in both first and second quarter of the year.

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A total of N1.449 billion was spent on capital expenditure for health and human services between January and June 2024.

The state expenditures on GAC SUV also comes at a time where 85% of the households in the state lack access to sanitary facilities, 76% of the households lack access to clean drinking water, time to healthcare is only 19.0 in Ekiti based on information published by the National Bureau of Statistics multidimensional poverty index.

The capital expenditure for the ministry of environment stood at N264.6 billion for the first six months of 2024, less than the expenditure for buying SUV vehicles for forty political holders.

The lavish expenditure also comes at a time when there have been calls for reduction in the cost of governance.

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