The lawmaker requested the governor to immediately furnish him with accounting details of how the state government disbursed the funds.
A member representing the Aba South Constituency in Abia State House of Assembly, Obinna Ichita, has asked the state governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, to give details of how the N27.4 billion World Bank loan for road rehabilitation in Aba was spent.
The lawmaker in a Freedom of Information (FoI) request signed by his lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor requested the governor to immediately furnish him with accounting details of how the state government disbursed the funds.
It read, “We are Solicitors to Honourable Obinna Martins Ichita, a Principal Officer of Abia State House of Assembly, representing Aba South State Constituency (hereinafter referred to as “our client”).
“We write this Letter on the firm instructions of our said Client to request Your Excellency to furnish us the following information with the deadline set by applicable law:
“1, The accounting details of how the Government of Abia State spent the N27.4 billion (Twenty-Seven Billion, Four Hundred Thousand Naira (or the equivalent sum in dollar) which the Government of Abia State had received in full from the World Bank for road construction and erosion control projects in Aba, specifically Port-Harcourt Road, Uratta Road, Obohia Road, Ohanku Road and Ngwa Road.
“2, The name and business address(es) of the Contractor(s) that executed any of the projects mentioned in the preceding paragraph; and copies of the contract awards documents.
“3, The cost of the execution of each project. For your ease of reference, Your Excellency will recall the following:
“a) That you had informed the people of Aba via a live radio program on Magic FM, Aba on the 29th May, 2020 that the Government of Abia State had received the said money in full and it was also reported in the National Dailies, including the Vanguard newspaper publication of 20th May, 2020 and Thisday Newspaper of 21st May, 2020.
“b) That on 7th March, 2021 during the 2021 Convention and the 20 million Naira Visual Studio Fund lunch of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, Aba Presbyter at St. Andrews Parish at No.1 Azikiwe Road, Aba, Abia State, Your Excellency again publicly acknowledged the receipt of the said money in full by Abia State from the World Bank.
“Your Excellency, it is pertinent to state that this request for information is made pursuant to the provisions of Freedom of Information Act, which requires compliance within strict deadlines. We therefore await Your Excellency’s timely response.”