N30bn for reconstruction of Port Harcourt Road is suspicious, says ex-Abia commissioner

A former Commissioner for Trade and Investment in Abia State, Chief John Okiyi Kalu, has said something is financially fishy with the commissioning of the reconstruction of Port Harcourt Road by Governor Alex Otti at the rate of N30bn.

Okiyi-Kalu said he was shocked when his attention was drawn to a statement by Otti, through his spokesman, wherein he attacked him for revealing to the public that his using N30bn to complete the Port Harcourt Road, Aba project is suspicious.

The former commissioner said the Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration which he served under awarded the same road in 2017 for N9bn with 40 per cent of the work already done including the establishment of drainages end to end, along with proper channels for storm water.

He said that while he is unfazed by the tissue of lies and inaccuracies contained in the statement from Otti, it is instructive to note that during a radio programme he monitored in Umuahia, Otti confirmed that he is actually using N30bn to do the job and that there was neither a budgetary provision nor due process competitive bidding for the work.

He said, “If Otti believes that property owners along Port Harcourt Road, Aba should be given compensation, he has my personal support to do so now because the government is a continuum and he is about to work on the same road that the immediate past administration started.

“Let me remind Alex Otti for the purposes of his records that as of May 9, 2017, the Port Harcourt Road, Aba project commenced, I was not a commissioner then and could not have harassed, or be in any position to harass anyone on that road because of the project as he told Abians on radio through his spokesman. I only became a commissioner in Abia State on October 17, 2017.

“I also find no real issue with associating me with the successes and shortcomings of the Ikpeazu administration because as expected of any government, we met many challenges, and solved many but couldn’t solve all the problems of Abia before we left office after eight years. By the time Otti leaves office, too, he will also not have been able to solve all the state’s problems.”

Okiyi-Kalu said his position remained that he promised the people of Abia State transparency in governance, and he would continue to hold Otti accountable regardless of any threat to him or his family members.

He added, “In his inaugural address to the people of the state, Otti had said, ‘the time for the rebuilding process has begun. Transparency, accountability, and public trust shall be at the centre of everything we do’

“Based on his statement, one then wonders why Otti is angry that a citizen is holding him to his words.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the Federal Government does not currently publish monthly FAAC and IGR receipts by individual states. What they publish is the total amount of FAAC receipts available for sharing among Federal, State and LGAs.

“If Otti has a web address where we can get monthly FAAC and IGR receipts for Abia State, he should share it, please. If his problem is that I asked for transparent sharing of relevant information with citizens, as he promised, then he will continue to have issues with me.

“I have also been made aware of allegations that his government sponsored the photo-shopping and publication of fake nudes of a young woman who recently criticized the government as retaliation.

“How did we get to the point that fingers are pointing at a government for producing and spreading fake nudes of a woman simply because she criticized the government? I hope women rights activists investigate this allegation promptly as it is despicable, barbaric and a new low for us, not only in Abia State but also in Nigeria as a whole.”

He said Otti woukd never be able to intimidate opposition voices in Abia State, especially himself, stressing that the governor wants to do so that he can run the finances of the state as his personal funds.