Governor Alex Otti Accused of Avoiding Accountability, Engages in Verbal Attacks Instead | #NwokeukwuMascot

 Opinion 

…“Ironically, Gov Otti, who claims to be recovering stolen resources of Abia State, has now come to the defense of a private company.” —John Okiyi Kalu | #NwokeukwuMascot 

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In a recent release, former Abia state Commissioner for Information and also Trade & Investment, Chief John Okiyi Kalu, criticized Governor Alex Otti for his handling of a significant matter concerning the Abia State Government. Rather than addressing the issue directly, the governor chose to engage in a heated exchange of insults, inviting further controversy.

The crux of the matter revolves around a $3.56 million investment made by Otti's predecessor and the subsequent denial of receiving the funds by Geometric Power, the recipient company. Kalu, acting as a whistleblower, brought this information to the attention of the Abia State Government. However, instead of pursuing the missing funds or confirming the investment, Governor Otti organized a press conference and encouraged social media attacks against Kalu.

The statement which he made public on his social media platform partly reads, “Ironically, Governor Otti, who claims to be recovering stolen resources of Abia State, has now come to the defense of a private company. He has questioned the authenticity of the documents provided by Kalu and has failed to address the today’s $28 million worth of shares in the Aba IPP project, which rightfully belong to Abia State.”

Furthermore, Okiyi in the statement captioned, “Unu Ahulanu eeeeee!! Governor Otti Condescends So Low, Invites Citizen to Exchange of Insults” revealed that Governor Otti received written confirmation from Prof Barth Nnaji regarding Abia's investment in Geometric Power Aba IPP. However, he later denied having any knowledge of such confirmation during a national television interview. This contradictory behaviour has raised concerns about the governor's transparency and accountability.

Honourable Okiyi’s statement reads in full;“Governor Alex Otti is inviting me to “iko onu”(exchange of abuses) session over a simple matter his government is obviously too ashamed to address directly and end. Throughout his acidic statement published today by his spokesman today he forgot to confirm the $3.56m investment by his predecessor but devoted more than 4 paragraphs abusing me so that I can respond in kind and possibly forget asking about the 3.5% share of Abia State in Aba IPP that is now worth over $28m.

“My crime is that Citizen Nwandugbom JOK informed Abia State Government that $3.56m was paid to Geometric Power, after the Chairman/CEO denied receiving any money, and Governor Alex Otti chose to organize press conference and summon social media hoodlums to attack the whistle blower instead of going after the money or publicly confirming that he has the confirmation letter from Prof Nnaji.

“The same Otti government that claims to be recovering stolen resources of Abia State is now defending a private company and asking the whistle blower how he got “official document” and why he told the world that money was actually paid contrary to the claim by Mr Otti that no such payment was made to the best of his knowledge.

“Meanwhile, the same payment detail was published in the 2022 financial report of Abia State Government signed by Otti’s Accountant General, Mrs Njum Onyemenam, who also swore in writing that she personally reviewed and certified all the entries made in the official accounting document that was published for all to see, after review by Mr Otti. Where did Mrs Onyemenam get source documents she used in confirming that entry if the documents were not available in the state's ministry of finance?

“Was it Dr Okezie Ikpeazu that should also come and read the handover note given to Mazi Otti? Is the government too ashamed to tell the world they have now seen where the transaction was recorded in the official handover note hence their resort to iko onu and ikpo aja umuaka?

 Dr Ikpeazu’s SSG handing over documents to Gov Otti’s government . 

“O kwa unu ahulanu eeeee!!! The same Governor Alex Otti who received a written confirmation of Abia’s investment in Geometric Power Aba IPP on Wednesday, 28th February 2024 from Prof Barth Nnaji, yet, went on national television the next day being 29th February 2024 to lie verbatim:

“…am also aware that there is an argument going on in the media about 5 per cent investment which would have equaled 5 Million Dollars which the Abia government is said to have  made into the project.

“I do not have any document to that effect and that was not handed to me either. So, it's just an argument. But I have asked the commissioner for finance and others including the accountant general to go through and find out if there's any truth to that.

"So, other than those two issues, I am not too sure there is any other thing I can say to the best of my knowledge. Maybe, Geometric will be in a better position to respond specifically to it.”

Chief John Okiyi continued, “Meanwhile, the same Governor stating as above already had a copy of the letter from Prof Nnaji and could have simply said that he had such a letter but instead chose to later dispatch his hirelings to write thousands of meaningless words to abuse the man whose only offense was to say ‘Mr Governor, money was paid. Please, collect it back and use it to develop Abia.

“Ndi Abia Lekwanu o, I was not the person that asked Governor Alex Otti to lie on national television, yet, you can all see the abuses he has rained on me as published by his spokesperson.

“Governor Alex Otti, I will not exchange abuses with you because you currently occupy an important high office in our state. 

“My only question to you will be this sir: when will you inform the world and the good people of Abia State that Prof Barth Nnaji has confirmed to you that Abia State has 3.5% share in Geometric Power Aba IPP paid for by your predecessor Dr Okezie Ikpeazu?

“It doesn’t matter that you may not know that due to paucity of funds and/or competing needs, a government might prioritize her expenditure away from payment for shares or other similar proposals in order to solve existential issues like insecurity.

“This does not cancel the fact that the idea to invest, and the actual investment (even if in part) in the project, on behalf of the state in the first place was a brilliant one.

“The much former Governor Okezie Ikpeazu did was significant, at least, to underscore the fact that the government then actually supported Geometric, going with them from Abuja to China to Cairo and then South Africa all in a bid to ensure that the project bears the stamp, support and backing of a sub-national government in order to smoothen negotiations for Geometric can only be appreciated by sound minds.

“The fruit of all that action deliberately taken by the immediate past Governor is what is being celebrated in Abia today.

“Hopefully, one day, Governor Otti you will find that out when you have run out of projects done and/or funded by Ikpeazu for you to commission.

“I am not interested in discussing who drinks what brand of spirit because it is too childish a conversation to be had in public by men who claim to be leaders and whose conscience speak to everyday. Let your conscience speak to you as you gulp your next glass of Hennessy, I have nothing to say to you sir.

“My dear Governor, if you mistakenly imagined that abusing me will make me stop asking you to publicly confirm that Prof Nnaji gave you a formal  letter stating that we have 3.5% stake in Aba IPP paid for by Dr Ikpeazu, you are sorely mistaken. I will not stop until you go public to confirm or else I will publish the document myself. I am sure you already know I have it.

“That investment by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu is now worth Twenty Eight Million Dollars ($28m) based on the $800m rating of the Aba IPP as confirmed by Governor Otti. Our propaganda focused Governor Otti was quick to tell Abians that the unpaid balance of N565m of Abia's share by the Ikpeazu administration has become N2.3bn today due to depreciation of Naira but he cleverly avoided telling Abians that the 3.5% of the shares paid for by the same Ikpeazu is now worth a whopping N42bn (at a conservative exchange rate of N1,500/1$) for Ndi Abia.

“That is enough to respond to all your abuses on me and former Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.

“Please Governor Alex Otti nobody should convert that 3.5% equity belonging to Ndi Abia to personal stake in the project. I don’t care which past government official has spoken or remained silent due to your fabled intimidation tactics but you must know that cowardice is not one of the caps I wear.

“Jisie ike na iko onu Sir, I wil not swallow your bait to exchange insults with a Governor while losing sight of what is important to Ndi Abia: $28m value as at today. But Computer Village Lagos is still open for your government to hire more skit makers with Abia money, feel free to deal afresh because more revelations are assuredly coming from me.” He ended.

While acknowledging the challenges of financial constraints and competing needs, Kalu emphasized the significance of the investment made by Otti's predecessor, which has now grown to a value of $28 million. He urged Governor Otti not to treat this equity as personal stake but to prioritize the welfare of the people of Abia State.

In conclusion, Chief John Okiyi Kalu vowed to continue seeking accountability from Governor Alex Otti and promised to reveal further revelations in due course. The focus remains on the $28 million investment and the need for transparency in the Abia State Government.