How My Predecessor, Okezie Ikpeazu, Spent N10 Billion For Non-existent Airport – Alex Otti
Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, while speaking at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C., on April 19, 2024, revealed that the past administration had spent N10 billion on the construction of a non-existent airport.
Otti became the governor of the state in 2023 under the platform of the Labour Party after defeating the Peoples’ Democratic Party and the anointed candidate of the State’s then governor, Okezie Ikpeazu.
Speaking on “State Governance and Economic Transition: Meeting the challenges through a citizens-centred approach,” Otti alleged that the administration of Ikpeazu spent billions of naira on non-existent projects.
“As soon as I took office, I set up a forensic audit. I called one of the top three audit firms in the world, and some of the things in the report are frightening,” he said.
The former Managing Director of Diamond Bank, which merged with Access Bank in 2018, said that out of the N12 billion paid to two contractors, N10 billion was for an airport in the state.
“Out of this figure (N12 billion), N10 billion was in September 2020 paid to some contractors for Abia State Airport.” He added, “We’ve spent time trying to locate the airport, and up to now, we’ve failed.”
Nearly a year into his administration, Otti also claimed the audit has uncovered several projects that were allocated to contractors which were not executed.
“N9.3 billion was paid to seven contractors for contracts that were not executed at all. Another N5.9 billion was paid to 63 contractors with no supporting documents anywhere.”
Abia State, one of the five states in Eastern Nigeria, has for years struggled with infrastructural deficit, which has been attributed to mismanagement despite being one of the oil-producing states in the country.
In late March, the State, in a bid to cut cost of governance, stopped payment of pensions for former Governors and their deputies, a scheme that cost the State millions annually.
