Abia blames typo after allocating N210m for photocopier in 2026 budget

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. 

The clarification comes after public commentary and criticism over the allocation.

In a statement on Saturday, the state ministry of budget and planning said the amount was not allocated for the purchase of a photocopier.

The budget office said the “figure that appeared beside the photocopier item on page 289 is not the provision for a photocopier”.

“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.

“The budget for the photocopier and sundry office equipment remains ₦12,000,000.00 as correctly stated on page 60.”

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.

“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.

“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.”

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.

According to the statement, there was no inflation in the cost of procuring the photocopier, describing the mistake as purely clerical and presentational.

The ministry apologised for the confusion and reaffirmed its “commitment to transparency, fiscal discipline and accountability in the management of public funds”. (The Cable)