Abia State Judicial Panel Temporarily Seals Off PDP Secretariat in Umuahia

The chairman of the Abia State judicial panel of inquiry on the recovery of government property and funds, Justice Florence Doruoha-Igwe (retd), has ordered the temporary sealing-off of Plot 43 Finbars Road Umuahia, pending the conclusion of the investigation on the structure.

The structure was sealed on Wednesday by personnel believed to be from the Umuahia Capital Development Authority (UCDA).

Justice Doruoha-Igwe, who gave the order during the panel’s sitting, explained that the panel observed that the structure housing the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) secretariat belongs to the Abia State government.

She directed the senior lead counsel to the panel, H. N. Doruoha, to serve notice on the Abia State chairman of PDP, Alwell Asiforo Okere, and the immediate past Commissioner for Lands, Chidi Onwuchuruba, to appear before the panel on February 16 to provide more details on the PDP structure.

Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary, Government House, Benson Ojeikere, and some former permanent secretaries in the state also appeared before the panel to respond to the ongoing investigation of their days in office.

Ojeikere alleged that on assuming office, he found improper accounting records, documentation of government projects and activities, and bequeathing of official vehicles to government appointees, which he claimed were done without due process.

A former permanent secretary of the Abia State Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Mba Okereke, disclosed that as a permanent secretary, he was not in charge of revenue collection or project implementation.

In her submission, Abia State’s former Solicitor General and former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Mrs Uzoamaka Uche Ikonne, said there was no employment racketeering or lopsided employment during her tenure as permanent secretary.