*Explains in detail how reconstruction of Ohafia – Arochukwu road was obtained.
*Reveals Julius Berger’s letter disassociating themselves from Senator Mao’s claims.
Some few weeks ago, Abia State Online Media Practitioners had a one on one with Honorable Uko Nkole, House of Representative member representing Arochukwu\Ohafia Federal Constituency. During that interaction, Hon. Nkole emphasized that Senator Mao Ohuabunwa has no hand in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Ohafia\Arochukwu road. In fact, he described Senator Mao Ohuabunwa as a serial lair. Read full interview.
Good Morning Sir, a few days ago, cyber space of which we are major stake holders was a washed with news of a purported text message that was circulated that you have defected from the PDP to APC. In that message, you were quoted to have left with all your supporters. So, we want to know if actually you have left PDP and your view about the text message that was circulated in your name?
Gentlemen, i appreciate your coming out today. I must commend you for the work you do online. Investigative Journalism which you do is a very tasking. Well, I was elected to the National Assembly under the platform of the PDP and I have not contemplated leaving the party especially now that we have a very strong government led by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, Ph.d. Whoever that circulated the supposed text message, off course it is not from me, knows what he or she aims to achieve.
Honouable, i want to commend you for the employment which our youths are getting through you. There is a controversy that seems to surround you and the Senator representing Abia North on who actually attracted the contract on Arochukwu-Ohafia Federal road, people want to know who actually attracted the contract between the two of you. We’ll appreciate it if you can set the record straight?
There should not be any controversy on that Ohafia- Arochukwu – Ikot Ekpene road. That road was constructed in the last 40 years. Out of that 40 years, the road only witnesses one major rehabilitation which was awarded by the then Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) under the administration of late General Sani Abacha. And if you can recall, our present president was the PTF chairman then. The reconstruction of that road was awarded to Messer’s alite then, work commenced but was abandoned immediately general Sani Abacha died. Once Abacha died, other people took over, but everything about PTF was wind up.
I recall in 1998, the same senator was elected to the House of Representative. That administration did not see the light of the day due to the demise of Sani Abacha. Then in 1999, he also reelected as a member representing Ohafia /Arochukwu federal constituency, in that he became the deputy minority leader in the house of representative that point in time.
If you have followed his story on that road, he equally claimed he brought Julius Berger to come and re construct the road and that midway because of the crisis between the president and the governor then that Julius Berger pulled out their equipment’s to Ebonyi axis. But you see, you know how contracts are awarded, if you award a contract to such construction giant, you know what it means. But I have to tell you that, it is just part of his serial lies and I will give you confirmation to tell you that Julius Berger has never been awarded any contract on that road.
What happened was that, Arochukwu celebrated their centenary celebration at that particular point in time and the then Vice president of the country was to attend the event, senate president then was also expected. You know, it was normal thing that if you have a such a construction giant around and an event of such magnitude is holding they help grade the road to make it motorable. So, Julius Berger just came to do a Corporate Social Responsibility to enable people pass, he now claimed that he brought Julius Berger. He has never, no nobody has ever brought Julius Berger on that road, I have proof to that. Now, he was in House of Representative for 8 good years and Arochakwu/Ohafia road remained like that.
Later, late Senator Uche Chukwumerije and the then governor of Abia state Senator T.A Orji fixed the road in the budget and the road was commissioned. But when the Jonathan’s administration could not retain power, the construction was stopped. I think it was because of fund. You can recall that in 2015 December, the senator could not survive the appeal verdict of the election petition tribunal, a rerun was ordered for the senatorial district. Even while he was the senate, I was moving around because that was part of my zone, so I was working hard to see to it that it was fixed so that my constituents can enjoy that access road.
In December 2016, i discovered the road was not captured in the budget myself, Orji Ogbonnaya Orji a very good son of Arochukwu and Nnamdi Udo the former MD of NAMA, we took it as a project. I started the follow up in January after the president laid the budget in December, I went to the federal ministry of works and reached out to the federal minister, I didn’t make a head way. As at May, I met the federal minister again and still no head way, then I reached out to Udo Udoma that is the minister for planning, luckily on my discussion with him he gave me instances of what to do which I did. I did a memo to that effect based on the existing government policies, we were given consideration on existing contracts and such road are economic viable roads. When I did the memo around June 2016, Senator Udo Udoma looked at it and advised on other things to do. Right there before me, Udoma minuted on the memo.
Luckily for us, on November 2016 at a press conference at Lagos, the federal minister of work HE Raji Fashola SAN held the conference and nominated 11 roads using a particular criterion that these were roads linking economic viable routes. Out of the 11 roads that were mentioned, Arochukwu-Ohafia road was the last on that list, the press conference was done on 11 November. I equally held a conference in the National Assembly to thank the Minister for giving us that privilege and the response to my plea on Arochukwu-Ohafia road. I followed up on that press conference and saw that contractors were remobilized to site, that was towards the end of November 2016. I know I did brief the governor of the state on my effort to make sure that road was fixed, in one of the meetings I had with the governor, the governor was shocked and said ‘but your colleague just talked about grading of that spin road to make movement easy for people ‘and I said no, there will be no need for that again because I know very soon the contractor will be on site. I assured the governor that by next weekend I will give him an update and as God will have it, by that next weekend they came.
I was in Umuahia when they called me that they are back on site and my number was given to them by one of the directors at the federal ministry of works. I provided my house in the village and vehicles for the initial take off. When they started reconstruction, I took the two local government chairman that the road fall into their domain with the deputy chief of staff to the governor to site to inspect and hand them over to avoid youth restiveness. Along the line, during December 2016, i got a call from Dr. Alex Otti, he commended me on my effort even though he has never met me before. He said that he has made inquiries and that i should never be discouraged no matter what anyone says concerning that road. We spoke on other issues. Then also in December 2016, i had a town hall meeting with Arochukwu people where i disclosed my effort so far and luckily, Mazi Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, who is the Director in Abuja was present. And i narrated the sequential actions i took to get the contractors back to the site and he collaborated the story and luckily, the Senator, his elder brother was there, he couldn’t controvert the story. I told them that i’m the member representing Arochukwu Ohafia Federal Constituency so it is my primary responsibility at the Federal level to engage them. And if in any way that somebody interfaced and did this job, i’m equally in a position to thank the person. I’m the member representing the constituency, the Senator is representing Abia North. I’m not talking about the ring road that links 5 Local Government, i’m talking about my immediate Federal constituency. Even if the Governor is from Arochukwu-Ohafia Local Government, he should be able to commend me and tell my people how i have tried to fight for them. For eight whole years and it didn’t happen in your time and another person is doing it but you are bringing up controversy at the effort of another person. I will say this again, there were only two persons from Arochukwu that interfaced with me to bring the contractors back to site and that is Mazi Ogbonnaya Orji and Nnamdi, former MD NAMA.
The man is from Arochukwu but he doesn’t know anything going on. In February, when the Federal Minister of Information Lai Mohammed came, the same Senator said that Arochukwu-Ohafia road was not in the budget. The Minister for Labour took a break and called the Minister for Works and he told him that what the Senator was saying was not true. That he has gotten in touch with Fashola and Fashola said that the contractors are there on site working, as at the time he was speaking, they have started from where they stopped and that was Arochukwu-Ohafia. The challenge we had is that that road was awarded of two phases; phase one is Arochukwu to Ihechiowa and Obinto which is about 15 kilometers to take you to Abiriba but i knew there was no mobilization.
I still wrote a letter to Fashola reminding him on the need to mobilize so we will have a seamless construction. I equally appealed to the Minister of Works to come and inspect the roads and see the deplorable condition of the road, he graciously accepted and by the time he came to visit some Federal roads in Abia, he saw the need for the continuous construction and then ordered for the mobilization that will take from Obinto down to Abiriba. So as i speak with you, the contractors are on site, i agree that they are quite slow but you have to know that there is no public provision for the road. That is the true picture of what happened about that road. I am the member representing Arochukwu-Ohafia Federal Constituency and with the synergy i have with my Governor, i will carry out my duty as promised. He should find a way to join the 5 Local Government roads and leave the one that have to do with Federal Constituency because i’m there to do it. And if he had in anyway done what he said he did, i’ll tell people and give him his credit. So, for clarity, nobody awarded Julius Berger any contract for Arochukwu-Ohafia road. It’s quite sad how they are maligning it’s name of the construction giants. It is a reputed company.
Sir, thank you. I want to talk about power. In 2000, the Federal Government conceived 2[times] 30, MTH132 32 KB to cite in Uguru, Ihechiowa and Amuvi in Arochukwu village and with the aim to improve power supply in the community. I also recall that the contract sub-stations were awarded in May 2001 for the sum of $3.4 million with additional local currency of N91 million and summed up as $350,021 million and N21million respectively. Now, on 11th July in the green chamber, you tried to move a motion calling for an urgent need to resuscitate the 432KBH Arochukwu sub-stations. So, from July till now, we want to know if there has been any outcome in the motion you moved in your own constituency?
Thank you so much. This is what i call Investigative Journalism. You can see the sequence of the questions, my efforts and everything. Anyway, i did that and that project is 80% completed and abandoned at that level. The 132 32 KB power station is expected to fill about 7 communities and the neighboring villages as well. I will be glad to tell you that the Minister of Power have taken note on that development and about three hundred and something million naira or thereabout has been provided for this 2017. Though I will still check but I know that money has been provided to see for the completion of that project. Also, there is another aspect of it too. During the privatization of these jingles and dispose, it was not captured. So, I had two prayers on that motion. One is for the completion of that project, and two is for its privatization so as to meet up with the current policies of government. Ours is to raise issue as a legislator but execution is sole the responsibility of the executive arm of government. These are issues that people should know. Actually, the capital component releases for this 2017 is not something to talk about. This is because, in most ministries, the capital component is mostly between 12 percent to 15 percent out of 2.2 trillion that was budgeted as capital budget for 2017. Out that capital budget, only about 330 billion has been released which in no way can help any agency that is serious to implement anything. However, we still hope in the president because he has assured that there will additions in subsequent capital component releases. So, am pretty sure that works will recommence once the funds are available
Honorable, when you took off, you have this program on Education precisely in Ohafia. There was this school that has never had building since our colonial masters introduced western Education. So, we want to find out whether that school building have been completed and more on the students that you registered WEAC exam for in your constituency.
Well, am not a loud person. Whatever thing I know I can do for anybody, I will do it. You see, I don’t want large witnesses of my constituency to score cheap political goals. I know there is a collapse of Corporate Social Responsibility on the part of the federal government. However, that is not to say that if I do something for my people that people should not notice it. As regards the students, I was brought up in the rural area. So, I know what First School Leaving Certificate(FSLC) and WAEC means. You know, people call sometimes to say that you don’t do what other politicians do; that I don’t gather people and give them some money like N50, 000. When such politicians do that, they beat their chests that they have given people scholarships. That is not scholarship, it is called educational grants. Scholarship means, you have taken over the responsibility of that person in terms of the housing, education, books, and every other thing. That is what is called scholarship.
So, in my own way, I said I will not do that. One, if I want to give scholarship, I can only give one person. What about a situation where we have about 200 students and you end up giving one person scholarship? Truly, it may not make any sense. First School Leaving Certificate is the most critical certificate. You cannot do anything, you can’t even learn any trade without a First School Leaving Certificate. You can’t write WAEC without a First School Leaving certificate. You can’t go to university, you can’t get employment anywhere without a First School Leaving Certificate. These are all indications that it is a very basic certificate that anybody should get in life. So, when you look at the students in the constituency, the poverty rate of some of their parents are very alarming. Most of the parents can’t even register the exam for their children. So, when I had interactive session with the parents because I believe In carrying people along, when I built that school at Ndeagu for over 100 years, that particular community did not have a primary school. Kids trek up to 5kilometers to access basic education.
For how I got into that project? You see, people believe a lot that one your elected into the national assembly, that you make a lot of money. My salary as a legislator after every deduction, my take home pay is N647,000. I know that other people may not be able to say it. But I tell you, both as a senator and as a house member, their take home pay after every deduction is about N647,000. I like being very open, I like being frank. So, I said, what can I do with this? So, one operator of CHAMA, the guy called me from Canada. When he called, I was thinking it was one of these people who thing because you are a house member therefore you have money to throw about. Rather, he said he has a free medical care project that he wants to run. I gave him go ahead order as long as he does not ask me for money. He simply said no, that he wants me to come and declare the ceremony open and also be the chairman of the ceremony. So, I said, I will come. That was around January, 2016. The governor came and I went to see him. So, I said if the governor could excuse me. He did and also assisted me with some money. Immediately, I came back to Abia and went straight to Ohafia. I went to the venue of the free medical care ceremony that the guy was doing, I was overwhelmed. A particular medical doctor, Dr. Okey, gave his hospital out for that program. You see surgeries taking place. So, when I went there, the N250,000 the governor dashed me for transport, I immediately donated it for the guy to use and buy drugs. The doctor was running his generator, his diesel and everything. I equally took out another money and gave him. I was really overwhelmed to what I saw. So, I now use the opportunity to tell them that I have a school that I would like them to go and lay the foundational history. It was on our way that he told him that this particular village have never had school. So, when we went to Ezeagwu, the man gave me the history that is very pathetic which I will not want to share. He also said of a communal conflict between two villages which the children went to school and never came back. So, I was touched. When I laid the foundation, the man said he has money to take up the project to window level. It’s a block of five class rooms and as I speak to you now, the school is completed. Also, other programs are lined up for the school. Last time, desks were to be supplied to the school and the people got stocked up along the road, you it is a federal government road which links to Ebonyi state. So, that is the challenge we are having now. If I have the opportunity, I will still do that again because I know by next year 2017/2018, we will be done. So, if I have interactive sessions with the teachers and there is any way I can intervene to the best of my ability, there is no doubt that I will do that.
Eastwind Newsonline 
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