Tuesday, 26 November, 2024

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CCT: Abia Must Account For W/Bank’s $800m – Lawmaker


A member of the Abia State House of Assembly, Hon. Obinna Ichita, has said that the state government must account for $800m it received from the World Bank for the people under the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) initiative.

Hon. Ichita, who represents Aba South state constitenc, stated this in a statement obtained by LEADERSHIP in Umuahia, the state capital, on Monday.

The lawmaker was reacting to an order of the State High Court restraining him from inquiring on how the State goverment appropriated the money and another $56m for the reconstruction of four major roads in Aba town.

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) member and leader of the opposition party in the state, said the government had denied receiving both funds just as he had forwarded evidence of receipts to the court.

“We have forwarded our list of witnesses which include staff of Debt Management Office, senior federal government officials and agencies concerned and management staff of the bank that decumented the loan transaction,” he said.

Ichita further noted that since he filed his statement of defence with the list of witnesses, the state government, its agents and lawyers have refused to appear in court.

“The matter was supposed to have come up on Friday, 11 March 2022,” he added.

He said the matter was instituted by the state Commissioner for Youths, Mr. Charles Onyedikachi, and the cordinator of Nigeria Erosion Watershed Managment Project, Mr. Izuchukwu Onwughara, adding that the cass had been adjourned to April 1, 2022.

“We are monitoring the road projects as well as the movement of the funds. We shall also continue to apply pressure on the government to ensure that those in the constituency do not suffer the fate of Faulks Road,” Ichita said.

He added that the state government’s claim of spending over N1bn per kilometer on a dry land in Aba was not only questionable but also a clear demonstration of an exceptional level of insult on the collective intelligence of the people.

“Remember also that no one knows the whereabouts of around $26m that have been withdrawn for the purchase of a Tunnel Boring Machine, which has not been seen anywhere in Aba South nor the money refunded,” he stated.

Credit: Leadership

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