N707m Refreshments Report Malicious, Lacks Facts – Nasarawa Govt
The Nasarawa State Government has rejected as inaccurate and misleading a report alleging that it spent N707 million on refreshments and meals while neglecting the provision of water in rural communities across the state.
The allegation, published by an online medium, was dismissed by the government as a distortion of official expenditure records and an unfair representation of public sector spending under the current administration.
In a press statement issued in Lafia on Monday, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Public Affairs, Mr Peter Ahemba, said the figure referenced in the report did not reflect spending on refreshments alone, nor did it relate to a single transaction or ministry. According to him, the amount represented cumulative expenditures by several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) over a nine-month period.
Ahemba stated that the expenses covered routine statutory and operational activities of government, including meetings, training programmes, workshops, security-related operations and the implementation of approved programmes. He said the report’s suggestion that the funds were spent solely on refreshments and meals was unfounded.
“The figure quoted is an aggregation of expenditure across MDAs for legitimate government functions over several months,” the statement said, adding that the portrayal of the spending as a discretionary outlay on food was misleading.
Addressing claims that the state had neglected rural water provision, the government described the assertion as inaccurate, pointing to what it said were sustained investments in the water sector since the administration of Governor Abdullahi Sule took office in 2019.
Ahemba said reforms and interventions had been carried out through the State Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (NASWASSA), the Ministry of Water Resources and the State Water Board, with support from development partners. He also said the government had established a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Taskforce and enacted enabling laws aimed at strengthening water service delivery.
According to the statement, several water projects have been implemented across the state, including the rehabilitation and upgrading of waterworks in Doma, Keana, Awe, Lafia, Nasarawa Eggon, Keffi and Karu, as well as in other towns.
“These interventions include grid connections, pump replacements, dredging, borehole rehabilitation, plant renovations and the procurement of operational equipment, running into billions of naira,” Ahemba said.
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He maintained that the projects span both rural and urban communities, countering the suggestion that rural areas had been excluded from water infrastructure development.
The government urged the public to disregard the publication, describing it as malicious and lacking a factual basis. It also reaffirmed its commitment to prudent financial management, accountability and the delivery of essential services, including education, healthcare, water supply and rural development.
While welcoming public scrutiny of government spending, the statement called on media organisations to verify information against official records before publication, warning that unverified claims could mislead the public and undermine informed debate on governance.