Abia seeks probe of APGA lawmaker’s claim of threat to life

Abia State Government has urged relevant security agencies in the state to thoroughly investigate an alleged threat to life claimed by a member representing Aba South Constituency in the House of Assembly, Mr. Obinna Ichita.

In a statement by the Commissioner for Information, John Okiyi Kalu, the state government said its attention “has been drawn to a circulating publication by the member representing Aba South State Constituency at the Abia State House of Assembly, Mr. Obinna Ichita, wherein he alleged among other things that some unnamed individuals are seriously threatening his life over his political activities within the state.

“We wish to unequivocally condemn such threat if at all it exists beyond the imagination of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) legislator. We also call on relevant security agencies in the state to thoroughly investigate the purported petition by the lawmaker.”

The APGA lawmaker had told journalists that he did not know why unknown persons should be threatening him and going after his life.

He vowed that no amount of threat would deplete his belief in accountability in the use of public funds, especially as it relates to the over N27 billion World Bank intervention for flood control and construction of major roads in Aba South through the Nigerian Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), which money he alleged “had been paid in full by the World Bank to the state government.”

Ichita disclosed that he informed the Office of the National Security Adviser, African Union (AU) Committee on Intelligence and Security Services, Heads of Diplomatic Missions of European countries in Nigeria, including European Union, U.S. Embassy and the UK High Commission of the threat to his life.

The commissioner, in his reaction, described as malicious and/or a hallmark of ignorance for a state legislator to claim that a World Bank project fund of N27.4 billion has been paid in full by the World Bank to the state government and insinuate possibility of its misappropriation.

“The practice is for such funds to be held in a project account supervised by the bank with contractors payments released to them on the basis of agreed milestones and “no objection certificate” from the World Bank itself,” he said.

Meanwhile, repeated calls and text messages put across to the state Police Commissioner, Mrs. Janet Agbede, seeking her reaction, were not responded to as the time of filing in this story.