Abia state House of Assembly has appointed members of the opposition parties in the House to investigate allegation of outrageous consultancy charges by firms engaged by the state government to handle its Parish Club Refund.
The Assembly on Monday during its plenary received a petition from a Law firm, Ndukwe Iheanyi & Co, bordering on Paris Club Refund to Abia State and the urgent need to investigate allegations surrounding the engagement of consultancy firms for the management of the Fund.
The petition was read by Hon Emeka Okoroafor, Member representing Isuikwuato State Constituency.
ABN TV reports that there are allegations that the firms engaged by the state government charged 50 percent of the total refund in addition to having top government officials as stakeholders. This situation has raised an eyebrow that government officials are allegedly having a large chunk of the funds returned to their personal pockets through proxies.
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According to the Law firm, they were informed that a former Commissioner for Finance in the State, Mr Obinna Oriaku, took to social media to explain his involvement in the transactions and further complicated the matter by raising issues that several consultant firms are at loggerheads over who is the authentic consultancy firm engaged by Abia State Government.
Ndukwe Iheanyi Law firm therefore prayed the Assembly to ascertain the validity or otherwise of the allegations raised by Obinna Oriaku.
It also appealed to the Assembly to investigate the charges by the consultancy firm engaged by the Abia State Government for the management of the Paris Club Refund as it concerns the State between 2011 – 2014.
In response to the petition, Speaker of the Assembly, Rt Hon Engr Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji said the allegations raised by the former commissioner are weighty and will be investigated thoroughly.
The Speaker therefore announced the setting up of an ad-hoc committee to investigate the allegations and revert to the House with its reports in one week.
The ad-hoc committee members are, Hon Barr Emeka Okoroafor (Isuikwuato, APC), who will serve as the Chairman, Hon Chijioke Chukwu (Bende North, APC), Hon Obinna Ichita (Aba South, APGA), Hon Abraham Oba (Aba Central, APGA) and Rev Emeka Otumchere is to serve as Secretary.
