“Tradeport, not airport, was my plan.” -Ex-Abia government Ikpeazu denies claim of N10 billion fraud
In response to Governor Alex Otti’s comments regarding the use of N10 billion for the Abia airport project, former Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu stated, “My aim was to develop tradeport, not airport.”
In response, Ikpeazu defended his choice, saying that as the state governor, he had the authority to change projects depending on priority and current conditions. He addressed the issue in a widely shared video post on Olu ndi Igbo on Twitter on Thursday under the handle @VoiceOfTheEast.
Ikpeazu went on to say that although some people disagree with the money for the airport, he was more concerned about using resources wisely.
Declaring, “I don’t want this airport now,” he emphasized that he had the authority to postpone certain projects in his capacity as the state’s governor.
Ikpeazu emphasized the financial difficulties of operating an airport in Abia State when he stated that his goal was not just to build one for the sake of it.
Ikpeazu went on to clarify that he had no intention of establishing an airport merely for the purpose of having planes land and take off, and that Abia State lacked the funding necessary to keep up such an airport.
“From the beginning, we were considering trade port,” he stated. All Nigeria does is build airports, and they don’t seem to be sustainable. I didn’t realize that Abia lacked the funding to maintain an airport, even if its purpose is to handle the landing and takeoff of aircraft.
We were proposing to build a tiny Ariaria inside the airport so that travelers could come there to shop, rest, and wait before connecting to the next flight to the next location, just like they do in Dubai, where they may stay in small hotels, conference centers, and other establishments. Life will continue even after you find out, but eventually we discovered that Aba has fifteen markets.
At the time we were considering this trade port, we were aware of the poor quality of the roads leading to Ariaria, Eziukwu Market, and Ngwa Road Market.
“Therefore, we were unable to link all of our markets, and my goal to promote trade and commerce led me to envision connecting every market. As a result, we chose to put the airport project on hold. I believe that when people discuss funding for the airport and other related topics today, they are challenging my decision to alter my opinion. As governor, I had the authority to declare at the time that I didn’t want this airport because, if you land there, where will you go?
According to him, at that time, he concurred with the State Executive Council that the government should fix some of the highways.
“I’m glad I finished Eziukwu Road from that airport fund today, as well as Faulks Road from that fund. Ngwa Road and Osusu Road are both good.” he continued. Thus, you can now link to Ariaria by way of Osusu Road to Eziukwu Market and Eziukwu Market to Ngwa Road Market.
I was able to successfully link all of the markets because of that fund.
Although applauding his choice, the previous governor said that an airport would not have been constructed with N10 billion if his government had moved forward.
“At this moment, I am aware of several airports that were put into service but have not yet received any aircraft. So how would I risk losing N10 billion if I tied down? Thus, I can guarantee you that the funds were not misappropriated,” he stated.
He reacted, “No, that’s far from it,” to Otti, his successor’s accusation that the funds were transferred into 32 other accounts. The 32 contractors are available for viewing. In other words, it is incorrect to state that there were 32 contractors; instead, there were roughly 20 because the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Public Utilities received funding for streetlights from that source.
“However, more than 20 contractors received as little as N30 million, and some received as little as N12 million.”
The former governor questioned his intentions about the N12 million and N30 million.
He continued by saying that after that, his administration disclosed the dates on which the funds were deposited into the contractors’ accounts as well as the names of the companies who were awarded road contracts and the projects they were expected to manage.
“So, I expect a discerning mind to do is to follow the trail,” he said. There was no monetary payment made. If you follow the route, you can determine whether any money was taken out of the designated account for any other reason. However, if you follow the trail and discover that the man was purchasing gravel, sand, and asphalt, and you happen to come across Faulks Road, which is still in existence, the evidence speaks for itself.
The good news is that they will willingly admit with their words that certain jobs run counter to popular belief if they pursue the N10 billion route. It will be evident that this government completed Faulks Road, Eziukwu Road, and Ojike Lane, among other projects, with the money it received.
Otti recently stated that the N10 billion airport funds were moved from the state government account into 32 separate company accounts prior to their sharing, and that the funds were already moved out before they approached the Abia State House of Assembly for approval.
Otti noted that although the former governor’s denial was not shocking, it was reported in the media that, rather than admitting they had spent the money, they had instead claimed to have used it for road construction—a position that is contradicted by the existing evidence.
