By Tony Icheku 



Abia State  may lose the hefty €50m Rural Access  Agricultural Marketing Project, RAAMP which the Governor Alex Otti administration inherited from former governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu.


The RAAMP  is a World Bank programme designed as  rural development project  to uplift the social and economic life if Abians in the rural areas.


However since the coming of the Otti administration, unbridled fraud and corruption  has dogged the programme finally dragging it drawn into  a cul-de-sac. From 2016, extensive work was done on the RAAMP programme till 2023 when contracts were to be awarded for over 900 kilometres road spread across several Abia rural communities. 


But the 2023 election brought in Otti with his high and mighty promises. But Abia's Mr Know-All was really Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and his janus-faced character began to undo years of hard work. 


First, Gov Otti's duplicitous character caused the resignation of the Project Coordinator, Chimere Ogbonnaya in questionable circumstances.


Dailyledger.com.ng reports that fraud and corruption under the Otti-led administration has stalled progress on the RAAMP programme as the World Bank is wary to proceed further as within a short period, two project coordinators have either have been removed in controversial circumstances.


While Otti continues to play hide and seek with Abians, a former Commissioner for Finance, Chief Obinna Oriaku lays bare the truth about some shady financial transactions in the Otti.


Oriaku in a note to an aide of the governor made clarifications on certain transactions which the aide was clearly out of his depth as his defence was premised on ignorance.


Said Oriaku: "The €50m RAAMP draw-down which was supposed to have taken place was truncated with the forced resignation of Mr Ogbonna the Abia Project Coordinator of RAAMP.  I am sure you know the reason why he left. It is clear that your office may not even know that beyond the N125m collected ahead of the award of contact, two new contractors were being forced on the Project Coordinator,  Craneburg Construction and Ferotex Construction Ltd, even when they were not part of the bidding process . The same Ferotex Construction that was the  conduit for N10b airport scam. "Nde erieri" . We are more knowledgeable than before. 


"Unfortunately, Abia is about being removed from the €50m project which was initiated under my supervision in 2016 due to fraud and corruption under our new Abia"


Oriaku, former banker also made other clarifications on some questionable financial transactions by Otti:


"It is on record, the documents from Craneburg Construction Ltd (Offer letter of N50b and N35b confirms it. The  document showing borrowing of N35b from Access bank to offset loans of UBA and Zenith before the FAAC account can be moved to Access bank will so be forwarded to you . You know you just resumed and may not know all these . 


"I don't say what I don't know,  moreso when it bothers around an industry I play on. The State borrowed from Access bank and Union bank. You can say the draw-down is not 100% yet. 


"I have never said the State have drawn down on $115m ADFB facility, the State is at the stage of signing subsidiary loan agreement with Federal  Ministry of Finance Abuja. It is a loan  transaction I initiated from day one and even defended before several committees at National Assembly in 2018. I still have follow up lead on it. Any day you draw down I will notify Abians", he affirmed.