Posted by Samuel on Fri 02nd May, 2025 - tori.ng
In an interview with Arise News, Otti criticised the former administration’s decision to hold a grand opening ceremony for the facility, only for him to discover upon assuming office that the project was far from complete.
Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has criticized his predecessor, Okezie Ikpeazu, for commissioning an incomplete Government House, describing it as one of several deceptive projects his administration has been working to correct since assuming office.
In an interview with Arise News, Otti criticised the former administration’s decision to hold a grand opening ceremony for the facility, only for him to discover upon assuming office that the project was far from complete.
He described the move as part of a pattern of deceptive governance, stating that his government has been working to correct such misrepresentations and restore transparency and accountability in the state.
He said: "What happened was that my predecessor commissioned an uncompleted building on the 28th of May. And it is supposed to be new government house. So what did he do? He completed the ground floor, finished it very well, put Italian furniture in the place, painted it, and commissioned it.
“So after the inauguration, I went there. When I looked at the ground floor, I was very happy. But as I went to the first and second floor, they were not even plastered. No sanitary fittings, nothing. So that’s fraud.”
When asked if he planned to initiate a probe into the past government, he said: "You have only four years. And when you get into some of these distractive things, you lose focus.
"I have too much work to do. Of course, we tried to, we called in KPMG at some point. And I’m sure you must have seen that, where they looked at one of the accounts. And they found that some 10 billion Naira was drawn for a non-existent airport. So that’s the only one that we are saying, bring back our money or give us the airport.
“Probing is a waste of my time."