BY NONYELUM JULIET
Abia
A pro-All Progressives Congress (APC) group in Abia State, Abia Best Interest Association (ABIA), has petitioned anti-graft agencies and international organisations over what it described as a controversial N54 billion school renovation project under Governor Alex Otti’s administration.
The group said it had written to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), National Assembly, Federal Ministry of Finance, World Bank, Transparency International and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), among others, demanding a probe into the matter.
Convener of the group, Barrister Eze Chikamnayo, told journalists in Abuja yesterday that despite budgetary allocations and reports of expenditure between the first and fourth quarters of 2024, no single new smart school had been completed in the state.
“Our fact-finding visits to public schools in Abia State indicate that over 95 percent of them remain in severe neglect—with dilapidated classrooms, unfenced compounds and absence of teaching materials. This stands in sharp contrast to the said N54 billion expenditure recorded in government reports,”
Chikamnayo alleged that Governor Otti had failed to publish the list, location and contractors of the 51 school projects for which funds were reportedly spent. He said the refusal amounted to systemic corruption, impunity and lack of transparency.
The APC group said it would not be intimidated by what it called threats from the governor after it asked for details of the projects.
It also took a swipe at Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, challenging him to caution Governor Otti.
“Charity must begin at home. Let Mr. Peter Obi take Mr. Alex Otti into one small room and give him sufficient tutelage on transparency and accountability before making noise across the country”.
The group urged civil society, education stakeholders and international partners to demand accountability, warning that public funds must not be turned into a “conduit pipe” under the guise of school renovation.
