The media landscape in Abia State has been dominated by a heated rhetorical battle between supporters of former Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and those of current Governor Alex Otti, following President Bola Tinubu’s inauguration of Geometric Power in Osisioma last week.
The media feud centers on the rumor that Okezie Ikpeazu, acting on behalf of the Abia State government, bought a 5% share in Geometrics Power, according to the former governor’s close associates and advisers.
John Okiyi Kalu, Onyebuchi Ememanka, Enyinnaya Appolos, Chinonye Mba, and most recently, Don Ubani are allies of Ikpeazu’s who believe that the Otti administration should validate the investment.
As per the evidence presented by Ikpeazu, the Abia State government, under the tenure of the former governor who was born in Obingwa, allegedly spent $3.6 million (or almost 71% of the total) to acquire a 5% interest in Geometrics, making the total sum $5 million.
The Ikpeazu camp also slammed the Abia State administration and Professor Barth Nnaji, who chairs the geometrics committee, for what they claimed was a failure to give proper credit to Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration for its work on the power project while he was governor.
They continued by arguing that the investment in question should be safeguarded because it was funded by the people of Abia.
In addition to these, John Okiyi Kalu, a former commissioner for information and trade and investment in Abia State, made an accusation on his Facebook page. In it, he claimed that the state government had given a contract for a 9.0km road connecting Abiriba to Etitiama Nkporo, even though the previous administration of Okezie Ikpeazu had already completed and given the road to the communities.
He went on to accuse the Abia State Judicial Panel of Inquiry into the lauded state investment in Geometric of being involved in the recovery of government properties and monies.
Governor Alex Otti’s media aides, in response to the allegations made by the Ikpeazu camp, denied any involvement with Geometrics and claimed that the former administration had not received any paperwork pertaining to the aforementioned expenditures.
Dodoh Okafor, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Special Communications, and Ferdinand Ekeoma, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, are among the individuals who are supporting Governor Otti’s defense team.
I don’t have any documents or information at this time,” Ekeoma stated when asked about the issue.
“Therefore, to the best of our knowledge, such does not exist so long as we do not have any document,”
According to Ekeoma, the outgoing governor allegedly directed his aides to launch attacks on the current state administration. This was all because the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was envious of Governor Alex Otti’s successes with the Geometric Power Project.
In his criticism, he accused the previous government and the former governor’s staff of using “primitive propaganda and rehearsed image laundering” to benefit their manager.
Those who caused harm to the people, according to Ekeoma, cannot divert attention away from Governor Otti. This comes after the previous administration demolished property on Port Harcourt road in Aba without compensating the victims.
Last week, Governor Otti weighed in during an interview with Channels TV, stating that he was cognizant of the continuing media debates surrounding the rumoured 5% investment by the Abia State government in the Geometric Power project.
“It is difficult for me to say, but I am aware that he joined the Geometric management team to South Africa sometime in 2018 or 2019 to sign a loan agreement of about $50 million, part of which was used to settle the dispute between Geometric and EEDC,” Governor Otti said when asked to explain Okezie Ikpeazu’s roles in the Geometric project.
The government did not guarantee that loan, according to the records that are accessible to me. Thus, Geometric’s assets served as collateral for the loan.
Since no paperwork about the 5% investment was ever given to the governor, he made it plain that he lacked the necessary paperwork.
But he did say that he had ordered the Comptroller General and Commissioner for Finance to investigate the purported 5% equity interest in the electricity firm, and that Geometric was the best party to answer the claim directly.