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N10billion Abia airport fund: Otti’s lies, my story – Ikpeazu
“On the 13th of November 2020, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu informed members of the State Executive Council about the details of his meeting with representatives of the traditional rulers in Abia State, who requested that we suspend the airport project and commit the funds earmarked for it to do more roads in the state, as we are surrounded by airports already but need to urgently improve internal roads that would give a further boost to the socio-economic activities of the state. Exco thereafter voted to approve the suspension and request to use the earmarked funds for road projects in the state.”
These were the exact words from the camp of Okezie Ikpeazu, on Monday, on a day the former governor once again joined issues with Alex Otti, his successor, while giving a detailed explanation to the whereabouts of the N10billion earmarked for the Abia Airport Project, which the governor had accused him of pocketing.
Waiving off the claims of diverting the said fund, the former governor, who admonished Otti, to focus on governance and stop deceiving the people with lies and fiction, stated that the tales about missing money and forensic report, were nothing more than clout-chasing, which would do nobody any good.
In fact, Ikpeazu, who insisted that no dime was missing from the state coffers during his period in office, maintained that on the contrary, if there was any question to answer, the governor should be the one to do so, adding that he (Otti) was merely diverting attention from the quarterly reports of the state, which exposed his government as being reckless with funds.
His words: “Accounting for the N10billion, no dime was diverted. Otti is diverting attention from his own quarterly report which captured him spending N3billion on research and nonexistent projects. Why is it that he is using the same Ferrotex contractor, who he accused of receiving N10billion from us for major contracts today? What stopped him or his auditors from asking Ferrotex for explanations? We have decided to respond to him with evidence of jobs done. The time of truth has come.”
Echoing Ikpeazu’s position, John Okiyi Kalu, former Commissioner for Information, who also took on the governor, urged him to stop playing to the gallery and tell people the truth with documents at his disposal.
Giving detailed explanation as an insider, he explained that the N10billion originally budgeted for the airport project was rechanneled into other projects, following the approval of the Executive Council, after traditional rulers in the state told Ikpeazu to forget an airport project but focus on repairing major roads in the state.
Adding that the royal fathers had argued that the airports in Owerri and Uyo made an Abia airport project unviable, Okiyi-Kalu, who later served as a Commissioner for Trade and Investment, regretted that it was shocking that after a demand was made for the publication of the much talked about audit, Otti and his media handlers rushed to a blogger to help them publish an indicting report against his former principal instead of the forensic audit report.
He revealed how the governor, had continued to award contracts to the same Ferotex Construction Company since coming into office, adding that apart from the Umuimo Road, Shalom Road and Umuode Road all in Aba, the company was also handing the 22.5 kilometres Isuikwuato-Abariba section of the 67.6 kilometres Umuahia-Uzuakoli-Abiriba-Ohafia Road, which is Otti’s biggest road project in Abia State.
Giving further details, he said the airport project issue first came to the Abia State Executive Council at a meeting on September 24, 2020, adding that based on the presentation made to the Exco, the members approved the project and also approved the borrowing of N10billion from UBA Plc as an initial investment by the state with repayment charged to our FAAC account with the bank.
“You may wish to recall that during the period, the country was still struggling to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic with very low FAAC and IGR inflows across the states. The current Secretary to State Government, who is an appointee of Otti, Prof Kenneth Kalu, can review and confirm his claim from Exco records in his custody.
“Shortly after we announced Exco’s approval of the airport project, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu received in audience executives of Abia State Traditional Rulers Council then led by HRM Eze Joseph Nwabekee. On November 17, 2020, Governor Ikpeazu took to his official X (formerly Twitter) handle to inform Abia Citizens that the airport project had been suspended.
Based on the turn of events, Bob Ogu, then Commissioner for works, on the prompting of Ikpeazu in anticipation of exco approval, selected road projects in Abia 2020 budget for funding with the N10 billion hitherto earmarked for the airport and allocated resources to the contractors, the former government spokesman said, adding that in all, the money was eventually sunk into 18 different projects.
He listed the projects to include: “China Zonghghao for Osisioma flyover Aba & ABSUTH Road Aba got N800,000,000. Trackcare Construction Company for Aba-Owerri road Aba (Brass to Osisioma junction segment, Ururuka road Aba, Afor Ibeji/ Ubakala Umuahia, Stella Marris Catholic Church, etc got N1,035,000,000. Ferrotex Construction Company for Aba-Owerri road (Railway junction-Brass junction segment) Aba, Obohia Road Aba, Opobo Junction-Ukpakiri Ogbor-Hill Aba, Uratta Ugwuati, Itungwa, Rehabilitation of failed Ururuka got N1,500,000,000.
“Shannah Jardon Construction Company for Okigwe Road Aba, Milverton Road Aba, Cemetery-Eziukwu Road Aba got N450,000,000. Ecklean: Osusu road Aba-N 200 000,000, Cosmos Construction Company for Immaculate Avenue Umungasi Aba got N150,000,000 while Setraco/Hartland for Port Harcourt road got N1,000,000,000.”
“Rockwaters for Ohanku Road Aba, Okpu Umuobo Aba got N650,000,000, MOW for Ebenma Street Aba and Ovom street Aba got N1, 130,000,000. Zubbalco for MBUBO Umuakwu got N200,000,000. Tunnel End Construction Company got N780,000,000 for the construction of Umuene-Obikabia, Umuojima-umuokiri- Ekeakpara, umuakatawom-Eziama-Ohanze while Paceo Carretera company got -N312,000,000 for the construction of Agalaba Ring road in Obingwa.
“Delhope Construction Company got N557,000,000 for the construction of Umuobiakwa-Owo road Obingwa, Federal Medical Centre internal road, Aba Road Umuahia (GG-shoprite). MOW construction got N325,000,000 for the construction of
Umuobiakwa internal roads, umuobiakwa (Gov) roads, Mbawsi internal roads and desilting of Aba big gutter while BOK construction got -N100,000,000 for the construction of Agbama Ring road Umuahia.
“Crystalkleen Construction for York/Jubilee/Nicholas street Aba got N30,000,000, Pumeco Construction for Aba road (Uchenna/ShopRite) Umuahia, Zero portholes in Umuahia roads got N353, 000,000, while Yodel construction for Afrata road, Umuahia got N100,000,000.
“E&P for Trinity College Road Umuahia got N60,000,000 and Obitex Development Company Ltd for construction of Ohuhu road from Isiokata, diversion from the gully erosion at isiokata to Umuawa Ohuhu to Nkwoegwu got N125,000,000.
“Smutedge Company got N200,000,000 for the rehabilitation of failed portions of Umuikaa-umuenne, Pacon Company got N12,000,000.00 for completion of drains at Ozuomba/Ohazu road. MOW company for Zero pot holes(Aba) got N 100,000,000, Charbel Company for Government house got 400,000,00 and the State Ministry of Public Utilities got N100,000,000 for Streetlights.”
Explaining however that the list containing the tranche payments was not exhaustive as those were the only ones in his personal Exco note that he kept during meetings, he said that it is also true that other tranche payments were made from other sources, stressing that the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Finance which had Aham Uko as commissioner, should be able to supply a more comprehensive list to what he was saying.
Okiyi-Kalu, who further revealed that Ferotex Construction Company, as one of the reputable indigenous construction companies with anti-graft agencies’ clearance was selected by the Ikpeazu administration as lead company in the “contractor financier” arrangements with UBA, added that the above-mentioned arrangement, the “contractor financier” arrangement was not alien within the public sector, stressing that a similar arrangement was entered into by the Otti’s government with Craneburg Construction Company for N50bn facility earmarked for “various roads.”
He said that such lead companies were more or less consultants that would receive the bulk amount and pay other road contractors as banks would not likely agree to enter into multiple agreements with all the contractors.
Dismissing Otti’s claim that he got the top three audit firms in the world to do the forensic audit as untrue, given that nothing showed that the said firms followed the money as expected of them he maintained that a serious audit investigation would simply seek to establish if the allocated funds got to the companies and also if the contractors did the work.
His words “Those who claim that there was need for “virement” may be speaking out of ignorance in this case. The road projects were already in our approved 2020 budget, hence no need for further house approval. All state revenues are expected to be used to fund state budget and from the time we had approval to spend on the roads instead of Airport there is, no further need for legislative approval.
“For the further education of those who verbalize terms they do not understand, “virement” is the process of transferring items from one financial account to another. In this case, the airport project and the road projects must both be in the 2020 budget before you can execute virement.”
If 21 governors including Ifeanyi Okowa, running mate to Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 presidential election could lose their states in the presidential election and a “special magic” had to be performed to save Kashim Shettima, the Vice President from embarrassment of losing his home Borno State, nobody should lose sleep even if the entire governor of the 36 states empty into the same party.
This was the response of Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) to the mass defection of political office holders including state governors into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in support of the re-election of President Bola Tinubu.
A guest of The Morning Show, a breakfast programme on ARISE NEWS television network, the former SGF, said nobody should lose sleep over the development as electoral victory resided with the people and not the governors or any other political figure, as they were incapable of influencing anything.
The former SGF said the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, is a committed and active member of the group championing the coalition campaign to wrest power from President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.
Lawal, also took a swipe at governors and political leaders from the North West, who recently endorsed Tinubu, saying their was no basis for doing so since their zone has remained the most ravaged by activities of criminals in the mode of terrorists and bandits, adding all they did was to lie and deceive the people.
His words: Most of the politicians that are defecting to APC are probably driven by the desire to safeguard their stomachs and to safeguard their luxurious lifestyles that they had acquired while in government, using the people’s money. To them, it’s okay. They can go that way because that’s what they chose to do.
“As for defections, I saw a study last week that showed that 21 governors could not deliver their states to their preferred candidates, which means that the governors have little influence on the voter at the polling unit. Yes, within the party platforms, they have their influences. They can rig the party primaries. A Senator for example who is out of favour with his governor is endangered in that sense because the governor might not give him his return ticket. He could just order everybody not to vote for him.
“But no governor can influence the voter. Take for example, Delta State. The Vice-Presidential candidate for PDP was the serving governor on seat. But he could not deliver. Peter Obi beat them flat. In those days, they will say he lost deposit. In Borno State, it is well-known that the Vice President could not deliver Borno State to the APC until they did magic on the result so that he’s not embarrassed.
“But he knows, the voters know that he was disgraced woefully. So, defection is nothing. It is just the character of the person. Somebody without character will easily abandon you when his interest is threatened rather than when the interest of the masses are threatened.
“So, that is my position, we’re not bothered about defections. It will continue to happen. In 2027, we’ll go to the polls and we’ll see the result. People from the North West shamelessly gathered themselves, drank tea and coffee and said they endorse Bola Tinubu. To do what? “There’s no place in the North West that is safe. The poverty level in the North West is so huge and so terrible, much more than anywhere else. If their so-called leaders choose that it is the path they want, then, good luck. But everybody knows that they’re just liars. They’re deceiving themselves and they’re deceiving their own people.
“If somebody from the Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, Kaduna, says he’s endorsing Tinubu because his security policies are working, he’s a shameless liar. Whatever induced them to say that is between them and their God and their conscience. But Nigerians know that it is not so. Insecurity has now grown; in places it was not before, it has expanded. They have not done anything.
“This government should better not talk about insecurity. When talking about it, about the economy, it is exactly the same thing. The poverty has multiplied exponentially. Even those who were doing well feel now threatened because there’s no economy, it has collapsed, completely collapsed.
“We are just surviving by the grace of God on a hand to mouth basis, everybody. So what economy? They are putting money that doesn’t arrive in Nigeria before it is spent, even when it arrives in Nigeria, they spend it on intangible things that we cannot show, that are not visible, you know.
“Economy is not for this government, it is not their intention, their attention is to run down this country. That is their intention. But now, it appeared that he just deceived us in those days all along, and now he has gotten the power and is in the mood to ruin the economy, to ruin the security of the country.”
The former APC chieftain, also spoke about the coalition of political leaders in Nigeria to end the tenure of Tinubu, in which he acknowledged being deeply involved say the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had no place in it, having been infested with an “incurable virus.”
His words: “In all the meetings I’ve attended so far, nobody has ever bothered about adopting the PDP as the platform. We all agree that PDP has an incurable virus. No anti-biotics can cure what is ailing the PDP and we don’t want to go into a house that we cannot modify that is not willing to change.”
A truck heading to Ibadan, the Oyo State capital from Lagos, on Wednesday morning, reportedly lost control as a result of brake failure and rammed into the Isheri market at OPIC junction, along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
Channels Television reports that the incident led to the death of one person identified as a tea seller, while an unconfirmed number of people also sustained injuries from the impact, quoting an witnesses who was at the scene of the accident.
The source, a commercial motorcycle operator, was quoted as saying: “I’m the security man of this place. Every morning, I sit with my people before they open for the day because I work at night. I had just called the tea seller to give me tea, and I had only tasted it once when I heard loud noises.
“I stood up, and the truck pushed me and I fell. It’s God that saved me that I fell to the right side, assuming I followed the other side I would have died. The man who gives me tea is the one who died.
“While I was at OPIC bus stop roundabout, a container coming from Lagos reached OPIC bus stop. When he was coming, there was no traffic on the express, he didn’t have brakes when he tried to enter the estate, he then crashed into the market and killed a person,” the motorcyclist said.
The report, also said that emergency responders and local authorities have arrived at the scene and the truck driver has been arrested and held in the custody of the Isheri Tactical Unit as investigations commence.
“The army does not have the necessary equipment on ground to fight the insurgency. Right now, the insurgents are using drones to fight soldiers on the ground,” was the stark reality Babagana Zulum, Governor of Borno State, painted on Wednesday, to explain the current onslaught in his state, which has remained the hotbed of decades-old terrorism ravaging the North East.
Against the backdrop of the resurgence of activities of terrorist groups, particularly Boko Haram, which has been killing residents since 2009, Zulum, a guest of News Central television network, on Wednesday, said terrorists were now deploying sophisticated technology in their operations.
Bemoaning a situation in which the bureaucratic bottlenecks attached to the procurement of military equipment, had remained a major challenged, the governor insisted that the situation must be remedied urging President Bola Tinubu to listen to the army on what it required to end insurgency in the north of the country.
He added: “We must prioritise security. National and subnational governments must pool resources together to procure equipment. A few days ago, I visited the Chief of Army Staff. He said he is looking for about 32 drones and he would end the insurgency.
“My plea is that let us deal with this matter decisively. The President of Nigeria should listen to those that can distinguish between the right and wrong. Those that can tell him the right thing and not sycophants.
“He needs to understand what is happening on the ground. A few days ago, I said there is an insurgency in Borno state. I commended the federal government for doing very well and that we should come together to resolve the issues. Some people said there is no insecurity in Borno state. We should not politicise insecurity.”
Regarding the debate on state police, Zulum, who seemed not to be in support of the idea as the immediate panacea, maintained that the existing security apparatus should be strengthened rather than create a new policing system.
Tinubu is gone – Babachir *Shettima, Okowa, 20 govs lost their states in 2023
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