World Bank $56m Intervention Project in Abia not Abandoned, Says Commissioner

By Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo

The Abia State Government Tuesday said that the World Bank has not abandoned its intervention projects in Aba, including the Ndiegoro flood mediation project which would free the commercial city from perennial flooding.

It also pointed out that the $56 million loan facility provided by the World Bank is meant for selected projects across the state and not only for projects located in Aba South state constituency.

The Commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi Kalu, made the clarifications at a press conference in Aba, following the controversy generated by the project implementation.

A member of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Obinna Ichita, who represents Aba South state constituency, had generated the controversy after alleging that the World Bank loan was misappropriated and projects abandoned.

But Okiyi faulted such claims, saying that the projects are ongoing and that the World Bank has an impeccable method of monitoring the appropriation of its loan facilities and the projects attached to it.

“It is mischievous for anybody to insinuate, no matter how highly or lowly placed, that Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has misappropriated the World Bank loan.

“It is malicious politics and unconscionable for anybody to say that Governor Ikpeazu collected $56 million and squandered it,” Okiyi said.

The commissioner further explained that the Ndiegoro flood mediation project was still on course and the money meant for it is safely kept in the project account which Abia government “cannot independently access” without approval from World Bank based on work done.

He said that the contract for the Ndiegoro flood channel project was signed in April 2020, while contractors were selected and handed over the project on June 6, 2020.

According to him, work could not commence on the project as expected due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, adding that the EndSARS protest in October 2020 further pushed back the commencement of the project.

Okiyi stated that the international procurement process has equally affected the project as it has not been possible to procure the tunnel boring machine (TBM) which a Dubai firm was to use in digging underground channel without pulling down buildings.

However, he stated that with the difficulty being encountered in the procurement of TBM, the stakeholders have agreed to adopt surface tunnelling for the Ndiegoro project, adding that the 36 months contract time line would be met.

The commissioner said that the six-lane Port Harcourt road with bus terminals fully funded by the state government would be completed alongside the road components of the Ndiegoro flood mediation project.