The All Progressive Grand Alliance lawmakers in
the Abia State House of Assembly have accused
the Speaker, Martins Azubuike, of deceiving them
into approving a request by Governor Okezie
Ikpeazu to take N30bn loan.
The aggrieved lawmakers accused Azubuike of
not giving the lawmakers detailed information
about the loan before they gave their approval.
The ruling Peoples Democratic Party has 13
lawmakers out of the 24 members of the House
while APGA has 11.
The Minority Leader of the House, Chief Abraham
Oba, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said
that the Speaker told the lawmakers that the loan
was meant to finance some developmental
projects in the state, including the dredging of the
Aba River, construction of roads and health
facilities.
The Minority Leader said that they were shocked,
two days after the House granted the approval, to
discover that the loan was meant for other
purposes.
The lawmakers were reacting to a statement
credited to the Economic Adviser to Ikpeazu, Mr.
Obinna Oriaku, who reportedly said that the loan
was not “a fresh borrowing” but funds meant to
clear the accumulated debts of the state.
Oriaku had explained that the loan was meant to
defray the backlog of the state government’s
debts, including salary arrears and debts owed
contractors.
But the Minority Leader said that Oriaku’s latest
explanation on the purpose of the loan was
different from the earlier explanation given to the
lawmakers.
The APGA members, therefore, demanded an
immediate clarification on the matter.
The APGA lawmakers, therefore, disassociated
themselves from the loan and threatened to resist
any attempt by the PDP-led state government to
hinder the progress of the state.
They also warned commercial banks planning to
grant the loan to be wary “as it would amount to
waste of funds.”
They also asked the governor to appear on the
floor of the House and address the members on
the desirability or otherwise of the loan, and to
clear the air on the actual debt status of Abia
State.
They queried the economic importance of
dredging the Aba River at a time public servants
were owed salary arrears.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, Clinton
Uba, maintained that the position of the House
that the loan was to help execute major projects
had not changed.
The Deputy Speaker, Mr. Cosmos Ndukwe,
condemned the statement of APGA members,
arguing that the passage of the resolution
followed parliamentary procedures.
He said the protesting lawmakers were under
pressure by an external influence to back out
from the resolution just to blackmail the House
and the PDP-led government.
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