[size=16pt]How Ohakim loots Imo State[/size]
• EFCC begins probe • Gov’s Aides, top contractor panic • Petitioner alleges threat to life

By ZUBI NWANLIOGU

WHAT is the true identity of Governor Godson Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State?
Take one: New Face of Imo State? No. Take Two: New Rogue of Imo State? Addendum: Only the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and the court of law can establish whether Ohakim is a saint or devil.
Indeed only the Law court can judge between Ohakim and his traducers who have accused him of monumental fraud even as he bestrides the South-East chest-thumping his achievement as an action governor across the Niger.
This curious question is also knocking from all corners; Is Ohakim guilty or innocent of crunching the bone hung on his neck by unbridled looting of Imo State treasury?

No matter what Ohakim's defence may be, the document on his alleged misdeed available to National Daily is damnable.
National Daily influence revealed that Governor Ikedi Ohakim is today a subject of investigation by the EFCC following series of petitions forwarded to the commission's office in Abuja accusing him of offences bothering on contract inflation and money laundering. Ohakim is said to have bilked Imo State of monies amounting to Billions of naira.

For instance Ohakim was accused of perpetuating fraud in the award off the N8 billion dredging of Nworie River.
The contract was said to have been awarded to Ruodo Nigeria Limited owned by Chief Tony Chukwu. He aligned with the Ohakim government to defraud Imo State of colossal sums through inflated contracts. The Ohakim-Chukwu dubious partnership was said to have started over two years ago and climaxed in the N8 billion Nworie River dredging contract awarded in March, 2009. It was learned that over 50 per cent of the contract sum has already been paid to Tony Chukwu as “mobilization”.

One knowledgeable source revealed that Ohakim awarded the Nworie River dredging contract during rainy season and about N4.5billion was paid to the contractors as mobilization fee. To quell the curiosity of critics, Ohakim claimed that the contract was in collaboration with the Niger Delta Development Fund.
The giant Arab Contractors was named as another construction company brought by the governor to swindle the people of Imo State. Arab Contractors are known within the Government House, Owerri to be involved in “syndicated business” or “Close circuit business”.

One of the petitioners Ikenna Samuelson Iwuoha, who is the Facilitator of SLAP Initiative, a non governmental organization alleges that the activities of this company are mainly to protect the interest of those giving them contracts.
National Daily learned that a road construction contract of N25 billion spanning 150 kilometres was allegedly awarded hurriedly to Arab Contractors, TK Engineering and Boly Construction Company in March 2009; implicitly, the value of the Road Project per kilometer stands at N167 million.

National Daily intelligence accessed more list of contractors allegedly used as conduit pipe by the governor to allegedly siphon the state funds with reckless abandon.
Pinnacle Communications Limited tops the list. It was alleged that Ohakim used this company to defraud Imo State government of money running into hundreds of millions of naira. He was said to have secretly awarded the supply of IBC transmitters to Pinnacle Communications Limited on Friday November 9, 2007, at an alarming cost of N776.32 million.

But in an apparent defence of the over-inflated contract, the Ohakim-led government quickly fixed the date of the installment and the commissioning of the transmitters as May 29, 2008. However, investigation revealed that the transmitters arrived Owerri, the Imo State capital on Thursday June 5, 2008. Seven days after it was supposed to be commissioned and had problems of installation.





“They were ineffectively installed in September 2008 hence it refused to function until January 2009 when another unofficial sum of money was pumped into the project. Till this moment the transmitters are not functioning, especially the TV section, one clear year after it was supposedly commissioned,” Iwuoha stated.
As if that was not enough, Ohakim also allegedly used another contractor, Solid Foundation Construction Company owned by Prince Lemmy Akakem, the Okpataozuoha of Orji in Imo State. Ohakim has been accused of using Akakem's company to loot the resources of Imo State through the award of over-inflated road contracts. All the road projects, National Daily learnt, are yet to be completed while some have been abandoned but full payments made to the alleged company. A case in point was the 15 kilometres road from the Standard Shoe Industry Road to Amulu Mbeiri in Mbaitolu Local Government Area, the contract was awarded to Solid Foundation Company at a whooping cost of N1.3 billion.

Analysts say the road was awarded on the average cost of N87 million per kilometer which they slammed as over bloated rate, intelligence showed that the alleged road contract was awarded in January 2008, full payment made, yet at the site work remains at the grading level. Other companies allegedly used by the Governor to milk the state include; New Ideas Construction Company and Lemmy Akakem Construction Company and Bauhuss Nigeria Limited, Bauhuss Nigeria Limited, was awarded a contract to build the Aladinma Shopping Plaza in Owerri. “They have been “doing” this job (contract) since 2007. When Ohakim came on board, he saw that he could make personal money from the project. So, he asked the management of the company to inform members of the public to bid for shops in advance and pay non-refundable sums of money running into millions of naira collectively; the public started buying forms, paying for non-existent shops, thousands of Imo citizens paid these various sums of money. This scam happened in January 2008. After few weeks, the Ohakim leadership announced over the Radio and Television controlled by the State Government that the Aladinma Shopping Plaza has been completed. Also, his leadership placed full page advert in the Champion Newspapers edition of 26/5/2008 and 27/5/2008 and in some pamphlets claiming that the Aladinma Shopping Plaza has been completed but in actual fact only a little percentage of work had been done,” Iwuoha stated in his petition.

http://nationaldailyngr.com/98cover.htm

Ochinawata obu maka why? Obasi bi na elu na ele kwa gi oooo!

Emeka which court will hear ikedis case? D same judiciary that discharged d great looter ibori?

@toba,na true you talk, but Nigeria is changing,ohakim is a victim of that change. secondly one day the pharoah wey no know joseph go enta and thing go change.finally oyibo go catch am because they cannot do without sending money outside.

Oha nwa, bodes room is still vacant

Oha nwa, bodes room is still vacant