Former principal secretary to former Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State and currently the member representing Ideato North and South Federal Constituency, Dr. Paschal Obi has told the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Contracts awarded between 2011 -2019 that the contractor for a project designated ‘Sundry Capital Project’ at Area K World Bank, Owerri absconded after receiving the $110 million (N39.6 billion) without executing the project.
Obi gave the startling revelation before the Justice Benjamin Iheka-led Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Contracts Awarded in Imo State between June 2011 and May 2019, at the weekend.
He disclosed that though he signed the contract award letter, the contractor failed to sign the same before absconding with the money.
Erstwhile governor, Emeka Ihedioha had inaugurated different commissions of inquiry to investigate the award of contracts under Senator Rochas Okorocha as governor.
Obi, however, expressed surprise that most of the contracts awarded by the Okorocha administration did not have contract agreements signed by contractors though payments were fully paid for.
The commission discovered and queried why most of the major contracts awarded under the Okorocha administration had no contract agreements signed by the then government and the contractors while contract sums were fully paid for.
This is even as investigations showed that some of the contracts did not have case files despite their values being in billions while others were fully paid for contracts not executed.
Obi who admitted that he personally signed the contracts as the chairman of the Government House Task Force Projects Committee, expressed surprise that the contractors did not sign contract agreements and still received payments from his office.
According to him, the Task Force committee headed by him was used to replace the State Tenders Board.
He explained that he merely signed his own column of the contract agreements and sent same to the office of the secretary of the task force to ensure every contractor signed their own before they were paid mobilisation fees.
Speaking on the payment of N650 million for the construction of supposed ministries of transport and lands offices without any contract awarded, Obi said he was not in charge of project monitoring and only signed as directed by then-Governor Okorocha.
He maintained that former Governor Rochas Okorocha was in charge of projects inspection and should be held responsible for any substandard projects or ones paid for but not executed.
Further, the lawmaker expressed surprise that the contracts for Ihitte Uboma local government area and a project designated as Sunrise Park were not listed in any files as contracts awarded yet billions of naira were paid for them, even as he said he did not know the locations.
The panel also discovered that in January 2013, a contract was awarded for the construction of Egbeada-Afor Umuaka Road at the cost of N2.4 billion at the recommendation of the committee led by the then secretary to the government of Imo State, but was curiously cancelled and re-awarded to another contractor at the cost of N3.6 billion two weeks later by Dr. Obi.
Dr Obi maintained that as a civil servant then, he was bound to obey the directives of then-Governor Okorocha and not question such directives.
Meanwhile, the contract for the construction of the new State High Court has been discovered to have been awarded under three different titles, viz Justice Oputa High Court Complex; Imo State Judiciary Headquarters and Imo State Judiciary Complex– with monies paid for each of them in billions.
Dr Obi, however, insisted that the projects were in existence but were awarded to three different contractors who he said delivered on their briefs.
He said the State Ministry of Works should provide the architectural designs to confirm their existence.
Meanwhile, the commission has discovered that the principal secretary received several billions of naira from the office of the Accountant General of the state without any projects tied to funds, ranging from N5 billion, N2 billion, N1 billion, N800 million and several others same day without tying them to projects.
The former permanent secretary told the commission that majority of the payments made from his office were tied to contracts, even as he insisted that any money given to his office had 100 per cent approval from Okorocha.
The hearings continue this week. Leadership
Pix: Former Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State
