Benue State Government says it discovered over 600 banks accounts operated by the immediate past administration of Samuel Ortom.
State Commissioner for Finance and Budget Planning, Michael Oglegba, said this was contrary to the 25 bank accounts the administration was shown on assumption of office.
The commissioner disclosed this on Tuesday when members of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) paid him a courtesy visit in Makurdi.
Oglegba said that the government uncovered the extra accounts from the information obtained through the Nigerian Inter Bank System.
Oglegba said Governor Hyacinth Alia had frozen all government accounts after taking over to enable the government understand what was on ground.
He said, “When we came in, we asked for the accounts and bank statements and we were presented with about 25 bank accounts.
“A causal look at the Nigerian Inter Bank System showed that Benue Government has more than 600 accounts.
“So the Governor needed to freeze those accounts to know exactly what was happening.”
The commissioner noted that Alia has been able to reduce the state wage bill following ongoing audit of the system, adding that the process was still ongoing and actual figures would be announced when completed.
On the state’s debt profile, he said both the state and local governments have a cumulative debt of over N359 billion.
“The debts owed by the State itself was in excess of N200 billion. This includes local and foreign debts,” he said.