Contract Awarded to moribund Standard shoes Company to supply School Sandals
There seems to be more trouble for the former Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, as the Panel set up by Imo state government, led by Eze Duruihioma,SAN to investigate how billions of naira that accrued to the 27 local Government areas of Imo state during the eight (8) years of the rescue Mission government were disbursed have unveiled how agents of Owelle Rochas Okorocha administration fraudulently diverted billions of naira through payments for fictitious and non-existent projects it purportedly executed.
According to a reliable source who spoke to our reporter on condition of anonymity, the payments were made through lodgements in Zenith Bank, Assumpta Avenue;Zenith Bank, Wetheral Road; Skye Bank, Douglas Road and Fidelity Bank at Ikenegbu Layout, all in Owerri Municipal Council.
The source also revealed that most of these contracts through which stupendous amount were siphoned had no details as regards address of the company, date of commencement, duration or progress reports. The percentage of work done before payments were made was also not specified.
Continuing, he said, “most of the phony projects paid for and purported to have been sited and executed at Ideato South, Amakohia Ubi in Owerri West LGA, Oru East, Oru West, Nwangele, Oguta and Isu LGAs, aside not being on ground were duplicated and awarded to different contractors to enhance the criminal intentions of the agents, officials and cronies of the Okorocha government who diverted the funds and subjected staff of the local governments who should be the beneficiaries to unimaginable hardship and deprivation through non-payment of salaries, pensions, gratuities and other statutory entitlements.
For instance, in Nwangele LGA, an oil marketer was awarded a Civil Engineering job, while the contract for the supply of school bags and sandals was awarded to the state owned Standard Shoe Company that has been moribund with premises over-grown by grass and staff deserted after non-payment of accumulated salary arrears. Besides, Amakohia Ubi, a community in Owerri West local government area was recorded as being one of the communities in Oguta LGA where some of the phony projects paid for are located”.
Some of the monies diverted include the sum of N7,821,600,000 paid into Zenith Bank, Assumpta Avenue account number, 1012893990, Skye Bank Douglas road account number, 1771219371. The sum of N2,672,579,063.00 was also paid into Skye bank, Douglas road account number, 1771219371, Zenith bank Wetheral road, account number, 1013353396 and Zenith bank, Assumpta Avenue account number, 1012893990, between 23rd January 2013 and 26th November 2014, while the sum of N2,000,000,000.00 was paid into account number 5030058266 at the Ikenegbu Layout, Owerri branch of Fidelity bank.
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not specified.
bank.
