The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged the Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, to recover billions of naira allegedly stolen from Enugu Water Scheme under his predecessor, Sullivan Chime and previous administrations in the State.
Reacting to the plan of Enugu State Government to summon a town hall meeting over the lingering acute shortage of water in Enugu Metropolis and other towns, APC Enugu State Chapter called on Governor Ugwuanyi to instead of town hall meeting, convoke a high powered panel of inquiry to ascertain what happened to billions of Naira voted for Enugu water scheme.
The call was made by the Enugu State Publicity Secretary of APC, Mrs. Kate Offor, while addressing members of the party at Akpugoeze, Oji River Local Government Area during the condolence visit to Chief Gbazuagu Nweke Gbazuagu who lost his grand mother.
Mrs. Offor specifically called on Governor Ugwuanyi to shelve the idea of Town Hall Meeting if he actually was serious to provide water to Enugu Metropolis and other towns.
“Governor Ugwuanyi should as a matter of urgent state importance, convoke a high powered panel of inquiry to unravel those who siphoned the monies voted to provide water to Enugu Metropolis and other towns and go ahead to recover the looted water funds. Town Hall Meeting is only a talk shop, which is more or less a cover up”, the Enugu APC spokesperson said.
Asked which water fund she was talking about, Mrs. Offor recalled that there were two or three tranches of funds voted to provide sufficient water in Enugu State in the last two decades including the money voted by Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) under Muhammadu Buhari and the 50 million dollars World Bank loan obtained by the immediate past administration of Governor Sullivan Chime.
“To start with in the late 90s, the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) then chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari after intensive study designed a water scheme for Enugu Metropolis taking a cue from the 1904 Oji River British drilled wonderful borehole which is still functional today. The water flow line designed from Oji River to Enugu is about 25km. PTF finished a successful test borehole, set aside money and nominated a German company for the project. Shortly after General Sani Abacha’s demise and return to democracy in 1999, the Peoples Democracy Party (PDP) took over.
“We want the panel of inquiry to tell the world how the money PTF voted for Enugu Water was spent and who derailed the plan? For the study showed that Enugu Metropolis will have more water than it requires, that storage will be the major headache”, Offor said.
Quoting a report credited to a top official of Enugu State government in a national daily Offor explained further that “The two water schemes in the State broke down at the same time and put us in trouble. We have the Ajalli Water Scheme built by Jim Nwobodo administration which is about 34 years old now and Oji River Water Scheme commissioned by Obasanjo
“They used to break down one after the other, but this time, they broke down together. The thing is difficult. Now it has been repaired. Light coming there from the EEDC is low. It cannot pump the water.”
When asked why the Governor should probe a federal project, the Publicity Secretary said “he who wears the shoe knows were it pinches and state and federal government are interdependent in this instance.”
According to her, the current Minister of Water Resources was the head of Water Department of PTF, and some of those who derailed the PTF plan are still alive while their people participated in the award of the failed contract.
Offor said the second failed opportunity was the $50m World Bank Loan, a transaction which took place under the watch of his predecessor, His Excellency, Sullivan Chime.
She said Governor Ugwuanyi should re-open the investigation of this alleged scam, which his top official said was not 50 Million dollars but about 29 to 30 million dollars, but whatever they (Chime administration) did, the new government did not see it. Offor therefore admonished His Excellency, Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to join President Muhammadu Buhari in the war against corruption, so as not only to recover billions looted by his predecessor, but to plug the leakages in the financial system, even as she made it clear that “Town Hall Meeting is a bridge to nowhere.”
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