By Daniel Maduka
With the Multi million- Dollar Geometric Power Plant designed to considerably improve the power supply needs of the residents of the commercial hub, Aba, and its environs is commissioned on Monday February 26,2024, controversy, blame game and denials have continued to trail a purported claim of about five million Dollars and/or its Naira equivalent in the gargantuan project by the immediate past administration of Okezie Ikpeazu.
The raging controversy has tended, as it were, to blight the huge significance of the ambitious investment in accelerating and driving economic growth and development in Abia State.
Only penultimate week, the Abia State Commissioner of information Prince Okey Kanu had inadvertently set the tone for the ongoing debate among Abians over the correct investment portfolio of the State in the Power generating and distribution giant following his assertion that the State does not have any stake/ shares in the project.
Rising from an Executive Council meeting, Prince Kanu, while fielding questions from the press noted that Abia State apart from providing an enabling environment and other necessary assistance to Geometric, does not have equity holdings in the establishment.
This position contrasted sharply with the position of the immediate past administration in the State, which on several occasions claimed that the State Government invested and acquired five per cent shares amounting to five million Dollars or its Naira equivalent.
Some top officials of former Governor Ikpeazu’s regime had proudly flaunted the said investment and the l $115 million Africa Development Bank ADB facility secured, but which became available during the present administration, as parts of signature assets bequeathed to his successor Governor Alex Otti.
On Friday, February 23, the Promoter and Chairman of the 188 MW gas powered electricity generating and distribution outfits Professor Bath Nnaji put paid to claims of such investment in the $800million project by the host State.
At an interactive session with the Media, the former Minister of Power under former President Goodluck Jonathan Government, while profusely acknowledging the immeasurable contributions and assistance of the Abia state authorities in midwifing the project, however, said Abia State does not have monetary investment either in Naira and/or in any other currency in the organization.
“There was an expression of interest from the Abia State Government for the acquisition of interest. But there is no payments yet,” Nnaji stated
But in a statement issued on Sunday February 25 ,entitled ” Geometric : Facts About Investment of $5 million by the Abia State Government Under the Watch of Dr Okezie Ikpeazu” Chief John Okeiyi Kalu ,a former commissioner of Information in the immediate past regime insisted that the administration during an Executive Council meeting voted to acquire a-five million dollars ( %5 equity) stake in Geometric through the Ministry of Finance on behalf of Abians.
“As at the time the investment was authorized, Abia State Government insisted on paying the Naira equivalent using the prevailing official exchange rate of # 395 to a dollar as agreed with the Management of Geometric..
“According to information available to me the state government was expected to pay N1,975,000,000.00 (One billion, nine hundred, and seventy five million Naira only) to Geometric as the equivalent of 5% equity in the project.
“Iam also aware that the Abia state government under the leadership of Dr Okezie Ikpeazu actually transferred the sum of # 1,42 billion to the bank account of Geometric ( possibly Stanbic IBTC Account) and it was acknowledged by no less a person than Prof. Bath Nnaji himself in his capacity as Chairman/ CEO of Geometric via an official letter dated August 24 ,2022.” Chief Okiyi Kalu stated.
However, with the present Governor Otti-led Abia State Government debunking the claims of any such investment by the state in the Power plant, not a few Abians are calling on the immediate past administration of Okezie Ikpeazu to come clean on insisting that such an investment, if it exists, must be known to the Government of the day.
