Abia Government Blames Typo Error After Allocating #210 Million for Photocopier Machine in Appropriation Bill

Abia Government Blames Typo Error After Allocating #210 Million for Photocopier Machine in Appropriation Bill
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‎The Abia state government has blamed the budgetary allocation of N210 million for the purchase of a photocopier in its 2026 budget on technical error that occurred during the final compilation of the document.
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‎The clarification comes after public commentary and criticism over the allocation.
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‎In a statement on Saturday, the state ministry of budget and planning said the amount was not allocated for the purchase of a photocopier.
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‎The budget office said the “figure that appeared beside the photocopier item on page 289 is not the provision for a photocopier”.
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‎“It is, in fact, the value for a different, larger capital project elsewhere in the budget, which was displaced by the formatting error,” the ministry said.
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‎“The budget for the photocopier and sundry office equipment remains ₦12,000,000.00 as correctly stated on page 60.”
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‎The statement said all purchases must follow legal approval steps, including checks by tenders boards and final approval by the finance and general purpose committee and the state executive council.
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‎“On page 60 of the said document, the correct and intended provisions are clearly stated as follows: ₦210,831,142.00 was provided for the ‘rehabilitation/repair of residential building/staff quarters for Lagos liaison office,’ while ₦12,000,000.00 was provided for the procurement of one Sharp photocopier and other sundry office equipment for the liaison office,” the statement added.
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‎“A technical error occurred during the final compilation of the voluminous document. On page 289, a misalignment of text and values took place, which inadvertently flipped the descriptions against the figures.”
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‎The ministry said the error led to an incorrect interpretation of the entry, adding that the relevant agency has since been informed of the correction.
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‎According to the statement, there was no inflation in the cost of procuring the photocopier, describing the mistake as purely clerical and presentational.
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‎The ministry apologized for the confusion and reaffirmed its “commitment to transparency, fiscal discipline and accountability in the management of public funds”.
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