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Geometric $3.5million stake: Otti lied – Ikpeazu *Nobody can steal my glory
Okezie Ikpeazu, former Abia State Governor, has called out Alex Otti, his successor in office over the five percent equity investment by the state in the newly commissioned Geometric Power, Aba, saying it was unfortunate for the incumbent to have claimed he was not aware of the investment.
Otti, who had denied knowledge of the $3.5 million the previous administration claimed to have invested in the power project, to acquire shares on behalf of Abia State, also expressed worry at the huge debt he inherited from Ikpeazu’s administration.
His words: “It is not about the debt, it is about what the debt is used for. If you inherited a debt profile of N34.4 billion by May 29, 2015 and eight years later you ran that debt to about N192.2 billion.
“I really can’t see anything that you have done with the money – salaries were not being paid, pensioners were being owed, infrastructure was decaying, the place go into ruins, schools were run down completely, hospitals were dilapidated. So, the issue is where did the money go?
“If I am going to take debt, it is going to go into regenerative expenditure. But when you are taking loans and you are running the state into debt, just for consumption, you are not investing in the state; you are not paying salaries; that’s actually what I was talking about.”
Ikpeazu in interview from the United States of America on Sunday, said the controversy around the Geometric Power and Abia State government investment was needless if African leaders are interested long term planning and in sustaining the programme of their predecessors.
“This is the major difference between us and the west!” he said, adding, “Unfortunately our leaders don’t find such projects attractive because they have minimal pecuniary benefits and successive administrations in Africa destroy and abandon them ( just because they don’t want their predecessor) to take credit!”
He described as unpatriotic, Otti’s attempt to stop the Enyimba Economic City project , noting that the project that was capable of providing 600,000 jobs and should be of national interest.
According to him, it is only such trans-generational projects that can redefine the nation’s economy and give quantum leap to economic development efforts.
“Palliatives and mere houses cannot change anything, neither can they create the kind of jobs we need, but an economic zone like Tinapa or Enyimba Economic City can,” he added.
”With this disposition, no governor will embark on any project that he can’t complete in four years. This is why we run a palliative economy.
“Alex Otti is a pathological liar. He lied again that I borrowed and spent $115m from African Development Bank, as well as $50 million from Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), whereas these funds were applied for under Ochendo (Theodore Orji), and they dropped just before we left office. Technically, it’s Otti that has them because we did not spend one dime,” he defended.
Also, his Commissioner for Information; Trade & Investment, Chief John Okiyi Kalu, argued that if the governor had read the handover note given to him, he would have found the details of the payment.
He challenged Governor Otti to publish the letter he received on February 28, a day he appeared on national television for the whole world to see that he lied and misrepresented facts.
Kalu called for an independent probe be instituted with the former finance managers under Ikpeazu “to review the equity issue even though Otti’s government has now admitted receiving the confirmatory communication from Geometric.”
The former commissioner stated that Otti’s administration is the beneficiary of the $50 million from Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) account for 500km of listed rural roads in Abia State.
“In additional to that, Dr. Ikpeazu negotiated and got $115 million from AfDB, to do more roads in Abia State. The roads in the AfDB loan portfolio were designed by an international consultant through a procurement process supervised by AfDB with $1.5 million grant from AfDB. Governor Otti is now benefiting,” he said.
Hours after Mohammed Hayatu-Deen did, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, on Tuesday, also flatly rejected the outcome of the presidential primaries, of the African Democratic Congress, alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement and electoral malpractice.
Amaechi former Minister of Transportation and former Governor of Rivers State, described the announced results as “concocted,” insisting that the process failed to meet the standards of transparency and fairness earlier promised by the party.
He said in a statement: “I unequivocally reject the concocted results being announced,” Amaechi stated.
He said he had previously maintained that he would only accept the outcome of the primaries if the process was free, fair and transparent, stressing that the exercise did not reflect the democratic values the ADC claimed to represent.
“I will not accept results from a process that does not reflect the values that the ADC had pledged to uphold, to rescue Nigerians from the impunity and gross mismanagement that our country is currently facing in the hands of the ruling party,” he said.
Amaechi alleged that a significant number of party members were denied the opportunity to vote during the exercise.
“There’s no way that about eighty percent of members of the party were not allowed to vote, and you expect me to accept such results,” he stated.
The former Rivers State governor questioned the moral basis of the ADC criticising the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over alleged electoral malpractice while allegedly engaging in similar conduct internally.
“A party that criticizes the ruling APC and INEC for vote buying, rigging and writing of results, cannot be engaged in vote buying, writing of results, and other electoral malpractices that leads to the disenfranchisement of voters who are party members. This is not acceptable!” he declared.
Amaechi said the ADC was envisioned as a platform to amplify the voices of ordinary Nigerians and provide credible political alternatives irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social background.
His rejection of the outcome is expected to deepen tensions within the opposition party following the conclusion of its presidential primary election.
“These timeless virtues of devotion, selflessness, and submission to divine will are values our nation desperately needs today,” were the exact words with which Godswill Akpabio, attempted to rouse Nigerians to the ethos of unquestionable faith and service to the country.
Akpabio, Chairman of the National Assembly, who drew example from Prophet Ibrahim, admonished Nigerians to emulate his unwavering faith, obedience, and willingness to sacrifice for the sake of Almighty Allah.
The Senate President, who conveyed his sentiments via a statement by Eseme Eyiboh, also used the specifically hail President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his vice, Kashim Shettima and Muslim faithful in Nigeria and around the world as they celebrate Eid El Kabir.
Stressing that the occasion called for prayer and sober reflection on the theme of sacrifice, he added: “This sacred occasion reminds us of Prophet Ibrahim’s unwavering faith, obedience, and willingness to sacrifice for the sake of Almighty Allah.
“To our dear President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his vice, Senator Kashim Shettima and Muslim brothers and sisters, I felicitate with them on behalf of my family, constituents and the Senate on this blessed Eid. May the lessons of sacrifice, compassion, and generosity that define this season strengthen your faith and bring peace to your homes.
“As you share with the less privileged and extend love to neighbours of all faiths, you embody the true spirit of Nigeria. To all Nigerians, I urge us to use this solemn period to pray fervently for peace, security, and prosperity in our land. Let us pray for our troops in the frontlines, for farmers to return safely to their fields, and for unity to prevail over division in our Nation.
“Eid El Kabir also calls us to deep reflection on the future of our country. Just as Prophet Ibrahim was tested, Nigeria is in a season of testing. The sacrifices we make today in patience, in tolerance and in choosing hope over despair will determine the Nigeria our children inherit.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda of this administration, supported by the National Assembly, is anchored on that same principle: that meaningful progress often requires collective sacrifice.
“May Almighty Allah accept your prayers and sacrifices. May He heal our land, guide our leaders, and bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Barka da Sallah. Eid Mubarak.”
“I will not be attending the announcement of the ADC Presidential Election Results today. I am concerned by reports from across the country of widespread vote rigging, some of which I myself observed, and will therefore be taking advice on my next steps.”
These were the exact words of Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, one of the presidential aspirants of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), with which he cast a slur on the ongoing presidential primaries of the party, hinging his position on reports of fraud trailing the exercise.
Hayatu-Deen, a second timer in the search for the nation’s number one job, ran against Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former Vice President and Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation.
In a statement on his assessment of the exercise which began on Monday, the renowned economist Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), used his X platform to convey his dissatisfaction with the process.
The ADC which said the collation for the exercise would take place in Abuja had urged aspirants, party leaders, delegates, and members to conduct themselves peacefully and uphold party unity.
Bolaji Abdullahi, its spokesman, who described the exercise as a defining moment for both the ADC and Nigerians seeking a credible political alternative, maintained that it remained committed to internal democracy and a transparent leadership selection process.
“The ADC remains proud to stand today as the only truly democratic party in Nigeria because it is the only political party whose choice of presidential candidate is determined through open primaries,” he said adding that the conduct of aspirants and party members during the exercise would reflect the leadership culture the ADC seeks to promote.
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