PRESS RELEASE
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Enugu State has linked the reported resignation of the State Commissioner for Transport, Dr Obi Ozor to alleged corruption in the government of Governor Peter Mbah.
According to a report exclusively published by Sahara Reporters, the state government first dragged Ozor and his wife to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations bordering on fraud and embezzlement of billions of Naira, in connection with the procurement of aircrafts for the Enugu Air.
Ozor and his wife were arrested and detained by the EFCC for two days, but were eventually released when the commission could not find anything incriminating against them.
When he returned to resume duties, he was reportedly locked out of his office, and was subsequently directed by the Secretary to State Government (SSG) to resign.
Reacting to the development in a statement on Wednesday, Enugu ADC said the reported resignation of the Transport Commissioner confirms its consistent opinion that the Mbah administration lacks transparency and accountability.
According to the party, everything about the administration of Governor Mbah is shrouded in secrecy, while he runs Enugu State, like his private enterprise.
Quoting the statement: “Contracts are awarded without competitive bidding. You do not see where the contracts are advertised as required by law. You hardly hear that contractors are pre-qualified. The government signs Memorandum of Understanding indiscriminately. Nobody knows how, when and how the agreements were negotiated.
“If due process was followed in the procurement of the aircraft for Enugu Air, why would the state government suspect the Transport Commissioner of making a deal out of it, to the extent of dragging him to EFCC?
“We have said it uncountable number of times that there is no transparency and accountability in the Mbah administration. Under such circumstances, corruption thrives in government.”
Speaking further, Enugu ADC recalled its initial skepticism about the establishment of the Enugu Air, which the party said, was borne out of the antecedents of the Peter Mbah administration in handling huge projects, such as the Smart School projects and Type 3 Hospital.
The party regretted that some of the smart school projects collapsed shortly after completion, while others were either not constructed at all or abandoned, despite the fact that the Mbah government placed the financial burden of these infrastructure projects on the people, through excessive taxation and levying.
Enugu ADC recalled that one of the contractors for the smart schools project, Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited, even eloped with over N5.7 billion paid to the company by the state government, without doing the job.
“The state government dragged the Chief Executive Officer of Sujimoto, Dr.Olasijibomi to EFCC. He was detained and later released on bail. We learnt that the EFCC recovered N1.2 billion from him and returned to Enugu State Government. What happened to the balance of N4.5 billion?
“The Type 3 hospitals are literally abandoned. Some roads constructed by the Mba administration have collapsed. The GDP of Enugu has collapsed. The economy of the state in general has collapsed. Enugu people are living in poverty.
“He demolished Ogige Main Mark, the main commercial hub in Nsukka, the host community of University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) and erected a bus terminal in its place, throwing about 7,000 Nsukka traders out of business. Similar demolitions were done at Holy Ghost and Abakpa,” Enugu ADC lamented.
The statement, however, assured the people of Enugu State of succour if they vote for the ADC governorship candidate, Ocho Obodoeze in the coming governorship election.
The party reiterated that Obodoeze, being an honest and God-fearing man, will run a transparent, open and accountable government, devoid of any form of corruption.
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“Under Obodoeze, there will be competitive bidding and strict compliance with the Public Procurement Act in the award of contracts and he has assured that 80 percent of the contracts will be awarded to Enugu people who have the expertise to do the job, not fake contractors from outside who will take our money and elope,” Enugu ADC stated.
Signed:
Paul Anigbogu
For
Enugu ADC Media Team.