The Delta State Government has said that the publication by the Financial Directives Company (FDC) on the state’s economy was faulty and a misrepresentation of the prevailing economic indices in the state.

In a statement on Tuesday in Asaba, by the state’s Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, said that the report as published by FDC was misleading and at variance with the reality on ground.

The Commissioner said there was no iota of truth in the report and urged the public to disregard it.

Aniagwu also pooh-poohed the publication on Vanguard newspaper by the Delta Chapter of African Action Congress (AAC) where it alleged that based on the FDC’s report, Delta had fallen under fairly miserable states in the country.

“The Economic Confidential in its Annual States Viability Index (ASVI) report of 2018 and 2019, ranked Delta among 10 states that are economically viable having grossed a yearly IGR of not less than 20 per cent of its FAAC allocation.

“The report listed seven states in the South that recorded over 20 per cent IGR in 2018 and 2019, they are Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Edo, Enugu, Ondo and Delta states while three states in the North viz; Kwara, Kano and Kaduna fall within the same improved revenue bracket.

“The improved condition of living in Delta was further buttressed by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its recent report where it ranked Delta as second least poor state in Nigeria.

“The Bureau, in its latest Poverty Index Report, ranked Delta second after Lagos among the states with low poverty rate, and said that 40.1 per cent of Nigeria’s total population was poor.

“A state with such economic indices can, therefore, not be said to be miserable considering the fact that the state meets her financial obligations as they fall due,” he said.

On Committees for Community Policing, the commissioner said that the AAC lacked requisite information on governance as the security and welfare of the people remain the primary purpose of government as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution as amended.

“The setting up of two committees on Community Policing is therefore a step in the right direction as no economy can thrive under any form of insecurity,” Aniagwu stated.

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