EXCLUSIVE: How Abia Governor, Otti Paid Law Firm Owned By ‘Friend Who Donated Buses For His Campaign Millions Of Naira As Contract Negotiation Fees’

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The Abia State authorities led by Alex Otti of Abia State paid thousands and thousands of Naira to a legislation agency, Ken Ahia, SAN & Associates for what it described as negotiation and evaluate of a single highway contract.

The payment was introduced as “discounted skilled charges.”

Paperwork obtained by The Bureau Newspaper, dated October 5, 2023, confirmed correspondence between the Abia State Ministry of Justice and the legislation agency.

The skilled payment was mentioned to be for negotiating and drafting the highway contract settlement for the state’s reconstruction of Port Harcourt Highway, Aba.

The ministry, led by the Lawyer Basic, Ikechukwu Uwanna, sought the approval of Governor Otti for the disbursement of N50 million, which was introduced down from N60 million, following additional negotiations.

The letter from Uwanna particularly famous the complexity of the transaction, justifying the payment for securing the “absolute best price” for the highway challenge.

The Bureau Newspaper gathered that the legislation agency, Ken Ahia, SAN & Associates is owned by Governor Otti’s political ally and pal, Mr Kenneth Ahia, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

In 2022, Ahia donated two buses for Otti’s governorship marketing campaign within the 2023 election.

Based on AfNews, the buses had been handed over by the lawyer to Otti in Umuasua group, Isuikwuato Native Authorities Space of Abia State.

The lawyer was reported to have famous that the autos had been to assist Otti and his marketing campaign staff take their developmental messages to the grassroots and Abians at giant.

Ahia was additionally one of many attorneys who represented Otti on the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal within the state.

The governor has confronted growing criticism over lavish expenditures since his assumption of workplace.

In February, a duplicate of the state’s 2024 permitted price range revealed by The Bureau Newspaper  revealed that Otti’s administration deliberate to spend N1.5 billion for the acquisition of “two variety of Toyota Hilux”.

Nevertheless, after the report, the governor blamed the N1.5 billion price range on a software program glitch generated by the Excel bundle utilized in getting ready the price range doc. He mentioned the precise quantity was N150 million and never N1.5 billion.

An additional evaluation of the 2024 permitted price range of the Abia State authorities additionally revealed that Otti allotted the sum of N5,845,000,000 for the acquisition of automobiles for himself, commissioners, everlasting secretary, judiciary and Authorities Home/MDAs.

In February 2024, the Nationwide Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that the poverty index of Abia State stood at 30 p.c, which means that 30 p.c of individuals of the state live in multi-dimensional poverty.

Earlier this month, The Bureau Newspaper reported how residents and enterprise homeowners inside and round Nkwo Ngwa market in Aba, Abia State, lamented and berated Governor Otti over their flooded dangerous highway.

The residents and enterprise homeowners accused Governor Alex Otti’s administration of partaking in social media propaganda to hype his administration whereas “he’s solely patching roads constructed by the earlier authorities.”

Nevertheless, regardless of the general public outcry of poverty and poor state of infrastructure within the state, and the governor’s promised dedication to reposition the state and carry the individuals of the state from poverty, a evaluate of the 2024 permitted price range revealed that Governor Otti allotted the sum of N1,545,000,000 to the Workplace of the Governor for the “Buy of auto for commissioners, Judiciary and Everlasting Secretary.”

Additionally, he allotted a complete sum of N2.8 billion to the Workplace of the Governor for the “Buy of motor autos for Authorities Home/MDAs.”

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