- Assembly Men Say Alex Otti Breached Due Process, never Got House Nod for the N50Billion Loan
By Ken Afor
The Abia State House of Assembly has reportedly raised concerns following the controversies surrounding some contracts awarded by the state government to Craneburg Construction, a company owned by the late Mrs. Chizoba Doreen Wigwe, the wife of the late Dr. Herbert Wigwe, CEO of Access Holdings PLc.
The New Diplomat’s checks reveal that members of the Abia state House of Assembly are reportedly up in arms againt the State Governor, Dr Alex Otti for alleged violation of due process ” as the governor lacks power in Law to source or receive loans on behalf of the state without the express approval of the State House of Assembly.”
Said a legislator: ” The governor, Oti and Access Bank broke the Law. For you to seek a draw down loan, the governor must first originate an application to the State House of Assembly for debate, consideration and approval because it’s on behalf of the state and the funds are being borrowed in behalf of the people of Abia State.”
The lawmaker added: ” Indeed, in case of a foreign,l loan, the National Assembly in Abuja and the Federal Ministry of Finance must give approval…That us the Kaw. So Alex Oti broke the Law here and we are going to ask questions.”
It would be recalled that this development is coming against the background of an alleged N50 billion draw down loan from Access Bank to finance road contracts in Abia State.
According to news reports, Access Bank, in a letter to the Abia State government, specifically addressed to the State Commissioner for Finance, confirmed the approval of a N50 billion term loan granted to Craneburg Construction, owned by late Mrs Wigwe.
The letter stated that the loan is for financing road construction projects that have been awarded by the state government.
The letter, dated October 1, 2023, provided graphic details and terms and conditions of the loan. These include information such as the borrower (Craneburg Construction), lender (Access Bank), contract employer (Abia State government), facility type, loan amount, disbursement process, purpose of the loan (financing road construction projects), tenor (duration of the loan), and processing fee, among others.
However, it was said that the Abia State House of Assembly did not approve the borrowing, which has led to accusations of fraudulent practices, hence legislators are currently asking Governor Alex Otti to give an account of how such a loan was purportedly obtained without the concurrence of the State House of Assembly.
Also, there are allegations that the contracts did not follow the official bidding and approval processes and that there are no specifics as regards which roads will be constructed with the borrowed funds. Analysts believe that the whole deal borders in inappropriate and unethical conducts.
