Abia Governor Otti Under Fire For Awarding Millions Of Naira As ‘Contract Negotiation Fees To Firm Owned By Friend Who Donated Buses For His Election Campaign’

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has come under fire for allocating millions of Naira to a law firm, Ken Ahia, SAN & Associates owned by his political ally and friend, Mr Kenneth Ahia, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

SaharaReporters had reported how the Abia State Government paid the firm for what was described as negotiation and review of a single road contract.

The fee was presented as “discounted professional fees.”

Documents obtained by SaharaReporters, dated October 5, 2023, showed correspondence between the Abia State Ministry of Justice and the law firm.

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The professional fee was said to be for negotiating and drafting the road contract agreement for the state’s reconstruction of Port Harcourt Road, Aba.

The ministry, led by the Attorney General, Ikechukwu Uwanna, sought the approval of Governor Otti for the disbursement of N50 million, which was brought down from N60 million, following further negotiations.

The letter from Uwanna specifically noted the complexity of the transaction, justifying the fee for securing the “best possible rate” for the road project.

In 2022, the owner of the law firm, Ahia donated two buses for Otti’s governorship campaign in the 2023 election.

According to AfNews, the buses were handed over by the lawyer to Otti in Umuasua community, Isuikwuato Local Government Area of Abia State.

Ahia was reported to have noted that the vehicles were to aid Otti and his campaign team take their developmental messages to the grassroots and Abians at large.

He was also one of the lawyers who represented Otti at the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in the state.

However, some Nigerians on social media (Facebook and X) have expressed dismay at what they deem excessive spending on the part of the Otti-led government.

In February, a copy of the state’s 2024 approved budget published by SaharaReporters revealed that Otti’s administration planned to spend N1.5 billion for the purchase of “two number of Toyota Hilux”.

However, after the report, the governor blamed the N1.5 billion budget on a software glitch generated by the Excel package used in preparing the budget document. He said the actual amount was N150 million and not N1.5 billion.

A further analysis of the 2024 approved budget of the Abia State government also revealed that Otti allocated the sum of N5,845,000,000 for the purchase of cars for himself, commissioners, permanent secretary, judiciary and Government House/MDAs.

“Obi's only governor just wants to ruin the state. Ikpeazu is better than Obi's only governor. I am sure everyone agrees with me on this not,” @ibirogba2000 posted on X.

@coolented posted, “It’s only a fool that thinks Labour Party is different. I never bought into the scam from day 1.”

@Enwagboso wrote, “A state governor paid a personal lawyer N50m to draft the Aba-PH road contract. This occurred after the Ministry of Justice paid over N5bn in court staff salaries for the year. No staff of the Ministry is equipped to have drafted that contract, but his friend and lawyer.

“I would like to refrain from criticizing the Abia government. Those who enjoy propaganda may continue to do so.”

@zerotolerance67 posted, “Clan of thieves. These are the people willing to rule the whole of Nigeria.”

On Facebook, a user identified as Peter Odion said, “I have told people several times that majority of politicians that are in LP are the politicians that could not get tickets or nomination forms from PDP and APC. Both PDP, APC and LP are more or less the same. Just that APC is worst in all ramifications.”

Another user, Nnamdi Benito wrote, “And the most funniest part of it is the fact that this same Otti has fast become a reference point to people who know him not.

“Almost everywhere in Nigeria, people use him as a reference point when making comparison with underperforming governors. Even in Lagos, you need to hear people eulogizing him as the best governor in Nigeria, meanwhile the whole thing is just but a facade, indeed Abia is bleeding.”

Another user added, “So, all the lawyers in the ministry of justice put together could not negotiate a 6km road transaction. And Otti paid 50 Million to a private firm/friend? Abians are in trouble.”

“The level of financial recklessness going on under the leadership of Gov Alex Otti, a man who claimed to be an Economist is unprecedented. By the time this man is done dealing with Abia state, what happened to Diamond Bank would be a childs play,” Chinonye Mba said.

Querying the contract, Peter Inyang said, “The company requested 50 million naira fees, the Attorney General submitted 60 million to the Governor for approval. How? Who owns the 10 million?”

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