Paris Club Refund: Two Abians drag Obinna Oriaku to the State Assembly
Posted by FN Editor | 3 years ago | 950 times
... Demands investigation to allegations
Two Abia Citizens have dragged Mr Obinna Oriaku, the immediate past Commissioner for Finance, Abia State to the State House of Assembly following the allegations made by the former Commissioner over the Paris Club refund.
However, following the petition, by the duo, Messrs Anthony Aniobi and Lekweuwa Ndubueze against the immediate past Commissioner for Finance, the House on Monday set up a five man committee to investigate the allegations.
They petitioners are worried that the former commissioner made claims which he could not substantiate, pointing out that the allegations which are largely unsubstantiated with facts and figures are horrifying.
The two businessmen had written to the House through their lawyer, Messrs Ndukwe Iheanyi and Co, asking it to investigate the statement credited to the former commissioner to the effect that the Paris Club refund as accrued to Abia state was mismanaged through the hiring of two consultants to handle it by the immediate past administration of Theodore Orji.
According to the petitioners, they were embarrassed by Obinna Oriaku’s allegations in conventional and social media, saying that his allegations which are trending in the social media platforms should not be allowed to ease out without being thoroughly and properly investigated.
The Speaker of the 24-man assembly, Rt Hon Chinedum Orji, in setting up the committee, named Hon Thomas Nkoro (PDP Obingwa West) as its Chairman, while a Legislative staff, Okezie Chijioke will serve as Secretary.
Others in the committee are: former Speaker of the House, Hon Chikwendu Kalu (PDP Isiala Ngwa South), Hon Kelechi Onuzuruike (PDP Umuahia North), Hon Jerry Uzosike (PDP Umuahia), and Hon Mandela Obasi (PDP Ohafia North).
Orji described the allegations by the former commissioner as weighty which should not be swept under the carpet and therefore asked the committee to do a thorough job on them so that the public will know the truth.
The former commissioner had alleged in several fora that the Paris Club refund as accrued to Abia was mismanaged because the immediate past administration, aware that it was about to be released, hired two consultants to handle its release to the state even though it was eventually released when its tenure expired in 2015.
However, Messrs Ndukwe Iheanyi and Co, representing their clients, Messrs Anthony Aniobi and Lekweuwa Ndubueze had described the statement by Oriaku as embarrassing; adding that he (Obinna Oriaku) failed to give a good explanation of his allegations.
The chairman of the House Committee on Petitions, Hon Emeka Okoroafor (APC Isuikwuato) said while reading out the petition that “the petitioners are worried that the said Obinna Oriaku did not give any explanation of the allegations and therefore has raised certain issues that should as a matter of urgency and importance be thoroughly investigated”.
Credit: Uche Nwosu
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