A forensic investigation exposing financial malfeasance under former Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, Alex Otti’s direct predecessor, has been made public.
Following weeks of heated exchanges with his predecessor, Governor Alex Otti has fulfilled his pledge to release the forensic report exposing financial mismanagement by the previous administration.
Tuesday saw the release of the 359-page report written by KPMG, which was hired on July 13, 2023, for the work. Mr. Okey Kanu, the State Commissioner for Information and Culture, briefed media on the results of the State Executive Council meeting this week.
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The report read partly, “N12,800,851,500.00 was paid to four contractors, for contracts that do not appear to exist, per available records and discussions with relevant officials.”According to the report, the alleged phony contracts included N10,000,000,000 paid “to Ferotex on 25 September 2020 for the “construction of Abia State airport.
N2,000,000,000.00 (was paid) on June 6, 2022, and September 1, 2022, to Logistics De-Luke, for the “delivery of 22 different brand-new vehicles,” while N9,279,800,000.00 was paid to seven contractors “with no records that the contracts were executed per schedules of contracts provided and discussions with relevant officials.
”On the utilisation of funds from Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), the report stated that Abia earned N468,356,645,293.64, excluding reversals of N28,963,869,442.72, during the eight years of Ikpeazu administration.
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The former administration is said to have spent N465,991,676,382.39 of the total net inflows from FAAC accounts; as of May 28, 2023, the consolidated closing amount was N2,169,406,016.88.
The auditors stated that payments to FIRS, inter-account and interbank transfers, loan repayments, and other expenses totaling N462,219,772,748.67 “appear to be legitimate.”
However, it made clear that N3,294,788,036.80 (68 payments) made to contractors, Government House (and certain officials), and MDAs “were contrary to the expected outflows from the FAAC accounts (inter-account/inter-bank transfers, loan repayments, and contractor finance facilities, CFFs, or bank charges) and were not supported by supporting documentation.”
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Mr. Ferdinand Ekeoma, the Special Advisor to the Governor on Media and Publicity, stated that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), an anti-graft organisation, was already questioning and obtaining explanations from government officials and businesses that conspired to plunder Abia resources.
Kanu, the Commissioner for Information and Culture of Abis State, went on to say that the public release of the forensic report would provide insight into how the people of Abia State, Nigerians, and the world community at large were brutally sexually assaulted by those in charge of governing the state between May 29, 2015, and May 28, 2023.
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