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IVM vs Assembly: Stop embarrassing Abia, PDP tells gvt *Says Otti lacks transparency
“If the governor cannot give the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, who is the number three person in the government hierarchy, the correct information in a financial matter as little as the purchase of vehicles, we cannot imagine how the governor would give ordinary Abians correct information on other matters. And every Abian is a witness to the constant misinformation the governor willfully dishes out all the time.”
With these words, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Tuesday, for the umpteenth time, called out the government of Alex Otti, for exhibiting lack of transparency in the handling of affairs since taking office, which had on several occasions led to embarrassment to the people.
The admonition, is coming against the backdrop of the contract tussle between the Abia State government and Innosson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) over the alleged non-supply of vehicles purportedly paid for by the state government, leading to accusations and denials.
Abraham Amah, Vice Chairman who is also the spokesman of the party, who condemned the development, particularly dwelt on the spat between the Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Emmanuel Emeruwa and IVM, describing it as not only needless but a revelation of a lack of due process and transparency in the conduct of government business by the current administration.
Emeruwa, had told reporters, as captured in a viral video that the government of Otti, had made payments for the purchase of the vehicles for the use of members of the assembly, which IVM had failed to supply one year after, a claim the company quickly debunked.
In the said video, the Speaker, who said the decision to buy from the company was purely to promote local content, not only threatened to terminate its contract with IVM for allegedly reneging on an agreement to produce vehicles for all the lawmakers, but bemoaned a situation where members would have to continue waiting for their cars since after their inauguration, saying it was unacceptable.
However Cornel Osigwe, IVM spokesman, in a quick riposte, denied that the company received payment from the Umuahia for the purpose of supplying the vehicles, adding that because the said vehicles were of a special order, which required special features, the company refused to accept such payment until the cars were fully produced.
“In accordance with the Governor’s initiative to promote local products, we took this project very seriously and produced a sample for approval by the Governor. During this process, the Governor suggested some remodifications, which we promptly implemented to meet his specified requirements.
“As of today, we would like to inform the public that we have completed all modifications and have addressed any initial defects. The new model vehicles are currently undergoing rigorous testing at our quality control section. We are pleased to announce that the vehicles will be ready by the end of this month and the supply will be completed by the beginning of next month. “When the governor requested to make payment IVM made a conscious decision not to accept any payment until the vehicles were finally produced and delivered, adding therefore, that the House of Assembly’s claim that payment has been made is inaccurate. We would like to express our gratitude to the Government of Abia State for their continued support and patronage. We want to reassure them that we have taken significant measures to prevent future delays and uphold our commitment to delivering high-quality vehicles.
“Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing Ltd remains dedicated to providing excellent products and services to our esteemed customers. We appreciate your understanding and patience in this matter.”
Amah, who said that the revelation made by IVM that it did not receive any payment from the Abia State government concerning the vehicles Emeruwa was talking about showed a total and embarrassing disconnect between the roles and actions of the operators of the Abia government, added that the PDP was concerned that this situation assaulted the concept of separation of powers and debased democracy.
“In the first place, it is an infringement on the independence of the legislature that the governor should be the one to award contracts for the purchase of vehicles for legislators. As a separate arm of government, the Assembly should be the one to award the contract for its vehicles, its budget should be on the first line charge to enable it to maintain its independence.
“This unconventional situation brings the legislators under the influence of the governor and it is difficult to see how they can maintain their independence if they have to depend on him for their welfare. What is even more shocking is that the Speaker had relied on oral evidence from the governor who told him that he had made payments for the vehicles and unfortunately, the company, not the Abia PDP, refuted the governor’s claims.
“That shows that the award did not pass through the due procurement process. What is more unfortunate is that the governor’s penchant for giving out wrong information to the public is also on full display within the highest echelon of the operators of this government. We call on Governor Otti to restore the independence of the legislature, become transparent to his fellow operatives in government and Abia people and ensure that due process and accountability are followed in the conduct of government business.”
For those eager to speculate around the sudden death of Mary Habila, a female student who reportedly died inside one of the rooms in the country home of Dave Umahi, located in Uburu, Ebonyi State, there is a message from the Minister of Works – prepare to meet me in court.
The circumstances surrounding the mysterious death of the lady said to be a physiotherapist, has been a subject of intense speculation, since the news was broken on Saturday by SaharaReporters, a foremost Nigerian online newspaper.
Umahi, who had earlier stated how he was shocked by the incident, explained that the deceased was one of the two employees of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, who had been on secondment to the Federal Ministry of Works as physiotherapists for the past three years until, before her unfortunate passing.
On Saturday, the Minister, had warned those he referred as “tale bearers” to apply caution, to enable the police conduct unfettered investigation into the matter, said to have occurred in his palatial home on June 27.
Conveying the position of his boss, Nwaze, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity had said in a statement: “The attention of the Media Office of the Honourable Minister of Works, Senator Engr. David Nweze Umahi, has been drawn to a publication by a publication concerning the unfortunate passing of Miss Mary Habila in Uburu, Ebonyi State, alleging that the circumstances surrounding her death were shrouded in secrecy.
“The Honourable Minister received the news with profound shock and sadness and has since extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. For the avoidance of doubt, immediately the unfortunate incident occurred, appropriate emergency steps were taken. Medical personnel, including the Chief Medical Director of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, were contacted without delay, while the Nigeria Police was promptly notified in accordance with the law.
“Following confirmation of Miss Habila’s passing, the Honourable Minister personally received her parents, conveyed his sincere condolences, and advised that an autopsy be conducted to scientifically establish the exact cause of death. At the time, however, the family declined the recommendation.
“It is important to clarify that Miss Mary Habila and Miss Anita Baski are employees of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, who had been on secondment to the Federal Ministry of Works as physiotherapists for the past three years until the unfortunate passing of Miss Habila.
“Following the recent developments and in the interest of ensuring that the truth is established beyond doubt, the Honourable Minister has again reiterated his position that an autopsy must be conducted. He remains convinced that this is the most credible and responsible path to resolving all questions surrounding the unfortunate incident.
“We therefore urge the public to exercise restraint, refrain from speculation or premature conclusions, and allow the relevant authorities to carry out their responsibilities without interference. At this difficult time, our thoughts and prayers remain with the family of the deceased, and we pray that God grants them the strength to bear this irreparable loss.”
Upping the ante, Umahi, told reporters on Sunday during the inspection of work along the Ebonyi section of the Calabar–Ebonyi–Benue–Nasarawa–Abuja Super Highway, saying his lawyers had been fully briefed to pursue legal action against those responsible for circulating alleged defamatory reports against him.
The Minister, who was quoted as condemning what he described as defamatory activities by “evil people who claim to be freedom fighters”, insisting such conduct should never be tolerated, explained that there was nothing hidden about the incident.
Explaining that the family of the deceased was in the full picture of the incident, being the ones who forced open the doors to the room after becoming concerned and immediately sought medical assistance, he said the police was fully in the matter also.
Wondering what led to people insinuating coverup on a matter that was already with the police, he was quoted as saying: “The family broke the girl’s door, called doctors from DUFUTH, who took her to hospital and did everything to revive her, but failed. The family reported the matter to the police, so where is the secrecy?”
For the first time in six years, Nigeria has recorded a crude oil and condensate production increase of an average of 1,735,398 barrels per day in June 2026, after posting consecutive four-month growth.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), which made the announcement on Sunday, also indicated that the also met its production quota set by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Against the backdrop of scenarios, where oil theft and other shortcomings in the industry, which seemed peculiar had previously hampered crude production, which at a point dipped to as low as 700,000bpd, the agency through Eniola Akinkuotu, its spokesman, stated that in June, crude oil production hit 1.56mbpd while 0.18mbpd of condensates was produced, meaning the figure exceeded the OPEC quota of 1.5 mbpd by four per cent.
In strict crude oil terms (excluding condensates), the 1.56 million daily average production Nigeria witnessed in June is the highest that Africa’s biggest oil producer has recorded since April 2020, thus representing a 74-month high, the statement added.
Stressing the feat, the agency said in June, the peak combined crude oil and condensate production was 1.89mbpd, reflecting Nigeria’s potential to reach two million barrels per day in the near term, but however, the lowest production was 1.57mbpd for the period in review.
The NUPRC, while also stating that the improved performance was primarily driven by stable production operations across most producing assets, said the absence of any major pipeline outages during the period under review, resulting in enhanced operational stability supported improved production uptime and crude evacuation efficiency.
If a marching order by President Bola Tinubu, is achieved, every Nigerian would be captured in in the national identity database before the end of 2026, going by the signals coming from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
Abisoye Coker-Odusote, Director General and Chief Executive Officer, who gave the out the information, said the President, the directive formed part of the Federal Government’s efforts to establish a comprehensive national identity system capable of supporting effective governance, planning, and service delivery.
A guest on Sunday Politics, a public affairs programme on Channels Television, the NIMC boss, told her host: “The President has given us till the end of this year to make sure that we capture every single Nigerian.
“What we have done is we have partnered through the World Bank ID4D project with front-end partners. They are part of the digital identity ecosystem. These are private citizens that we’ve enabled and given jobs to enrol citizens on our behalf.”
Stressing that the mandate of the agency, she explained that the National Identification Number (NIN) remained a unique identifier, ensuring that every individual is registered only once, stating that presently, Nigeria’s actual population remains uncertain, with estimates ranging from 200 million to 250 million, making a comprehensive identity database essential for national planning.
She said: “That’s why it’s called a unique identifier, so that you’re only enrolled once. It is estimated that we’re 200 million. When we’re done enrolling, we will then know the actual numbers that we have. Some estimates say 230 million, while a few people say 250 million.
“Your identity is basically the foundation for effective governance and service delivery. How can you plan if you don’t know the total number of persons that you have? We have been mandated by Mr President to go down to the community levels to enrol every single Nigerian.”
Dismissing the possibility of double registration under different guises, she said the NIMC boss said the commission’s biometric verification system prevents such occurrences, adding that while the previous system could accept duplicate enrolments before detecting them later, the current process automatically identified and invalidated multiple registrations.
“The legacy system had no way of verifying at the front end whether you had already been captured. Once the record comes into the system, it flags it as a duplicate or that the person already exists in the database.
“You would only have one identity generated for you. The other record goes into a deduplication bucket where it is invalidated. One of the things that this Act has done is to cement our role in capturing biometrics. Private and public sector organisations will no longer capture biometrics independently. They will validate identities through API integration with NIMC.
“The telcos are already doing that with us. If you need a SIM card, they capture your facial biometrics, which are matched against our database in real time to confirm that you are who you claim to be. We’re using biometric validation to tighten security around identity confirmation.”
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