An alarming revelation emerged yesterday in the N458 million naira contract scam involving the Deputy Governor of Imo State, Sir Jude Agbaso when Barr C.O.C Akaolisa, Legal Adviser to the PDP, alleged that JPros is a contractor who runs a restaurant.
In his petition to the EFCC/ICPC which was made available to Imo Trumpeta, Akaolisa said “the contractor who runs a restaurant as a business is not known to have done any road contract anywhere in Nigeria. His only qualification is that he is a close friend and partner of the Imo State First Lady, Mrs. Nkechi Okorocha”.
Part of Akaolisa’s petition reads “Thus he was merely used as a conduit to fraudulently withdraw money from the government coffers to be shared. The Deputy Governor, Sir Jude Agbaso took N458 million representing 40% of the contract value”.
He stressed that the probe of the Deputy Governor of Imo has exposed the various schemes perfected by the Okorocha administration to unwholesomely divert public funds.
He said that this act geared towards sharing public funds as largesse, was done through phantom award of road contracts without any contract document.
He picked holes in the award of a 3 kilometer road at the cost of N1 billion naira, at N400 (four hundred million naira) per kilometer.
According to him “this award did not have project design, no advertisement, no bidding, no bills of quantities, no tender at all, no evidence of prequalification of contractor, no provision for the project in the state budget and no exco waver”.
He continued “In addition, 100% payment was made without performance bond nor advance payment guarantee in contravention of the Imo State Financial Instruction I & II, Imo state Public Procurement Law (Due process Law, Fiscal Responsibility Law, Imo State and the Public Procurement Act 2007”.
Akaolisa requested that those directly or indirectly connected with the phantom contract such as the contractor, Mr. Joseph Dina, MD/CEO JPros International Nigeria Ltd, the Deputy Governor of Imo state, the Principal Secretary to the Governor, Dr Paschal Obi, the Accountant General of the State, George Eche, the Commissioner for Finance, Deacon Chike Okafor, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works, Mr. Alex Nebedum, the Director of Civil, Ministry of Works, Engr. Egbuka, Chief Okey Nwosu, (aka 101), the biological brother to Imo State First Lady who procured the contractor, the Imo State First Lady, Mrs. Nkechi Okorocha and the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Chief Eze Madumere should be investigated and accordingly prosecuted.
The PDP Legal Adviser also called on the anti-graft agency to look into the state government approval for the sum of N256.6 million for payment to phantom contractors purported to be engaged in non-existent road contracts in Onuimo LGA.
He alleged that “these payments were made on the 24th of April, 2012, long before the incorporation of some of the beneficiaries of the contract namely; Elason Global Enterprises, Incorporated on the 24th of December, 2012, Lufranza Engineering Services Company Incorporated on the 13th of December, 2012 and Elason General Supplies Company with no evidence of Incorporation. One wonders how a state government should award road construction work to unregistered companies if not to deceive the people and steal their money”.
Akaolisa insisted that “there is nothing anywhere in Imo state to justify the payment of 40% advance as claimed by the governor for some projects in the state such as Imo Towers of 1,000 Housing Units targeted at High Network Individuals and Imo Citizens in Diaspora, the Ecumenical Centre known as Amarachi, the Magnificent Towers known as Akachi, the Five-Star Crystal Hotel, Ultra Modern Shopping Malls, Multilever Car Parks, Ultra Modern Judiciary Headquarters and Princess Hotel, Okigwe.
The Legal Adviser took a swipe at the Imo State House of Assembly for maintaining graveyard silence being perpetrated by the Executive, saying it is a clear indication of criminal conspiracy and collusion to loot public funds.
He further maintained that “it is now an open secret that the Honourable Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly awards road construction contracts in the state and has even installed his own Asphalt Plant in Owerri where almost all the asphalt used in the construction in the state are procured”.
