Governor to MP: Accusations demand proof
Shafaq News/ On Friday, Basra Governor Asaad Al-Eidani pushed back against allegations made by MP Falih Al-Khazali regarding financial mismanagement in the province.
Earlier Friday, Al-Khazali referenced Basra's ongoing water crisis, citing the 110 billion dinar Mohaila Station project in Abu Al-Khasib. He argued that with the sums allegedly spent under Al-Eidani’s administration, similar projects could have been built in multiple areas to end residents' suffering.
Urging the lawmaker to provide concrete evidence and refrain from “misleading public opinion,” al-Eidani described the accusations as “undermining oversight bodies and deceiving the public.”
“One says four trillion dinars were squandered, another claims I spent 12 trillion dinars in eight years,” the Governor said, challenging Al-Khazali to back up the figures with official data.
“I assumed office in 2017. Let him start from 2018—budgets are public, and the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Board of Supreme Audit have the real numbers,” Al-Eidani said.
He dismissed Al-Khazali’s latest claim that 12 trillion dinars had been spent on nonexistent projects as unsubstantiated. “Stop misleading the people of Basra,” he said, addressing the MP directly.
