“This is the most compelling, frontal and direct accusation ever levelled against a state governor by his ranking cabinet member. Of course, all payments to contractors must be approved by the governor.”
THE Chief of Staff in the Akwa Ibom State Government House, Mr Ephraim Inyang has made startling revelations on the mismanagement of contracts awarded by the Udom Emmanuel administration. Speaking over the weekend in a political meeting in his Onna community, the former Commissioner for Works noted that the numerous abandoned road projects in the state is not due to lack of funds, because the monies had been paid to the contractors. Rather, he stated that the contractors had gone away with the funds without performing on the contract. ”That money is with the contractors, and the contractors must account for it”, he said.
Mr Inyang was responding to the widely held opinion in the state that, as the immediate past Commissioner for Works, he is responsible for the many abandoned and uncompleted road projects in the state.
Defending himself, Ephraim exclaimed in the meeting: ”Commissioner doesn’t pay for road construction; commissioner processes documents for road construction and the governor approves it. Every contractor in Akwa Ibom is paid by the Accountant-General, directly to the account of the contractor. No Commissioner of Works has access to that money. Roads have been abandoned and falsehood spread that Ephraim Inyang ate the money and that is a lie”.
To prove his innocence, Ephraim challenges Akwa Ibom people, particularly the elders, to petition him to EFCC, insisting that he would clear his name.
First, it is notable that Ephraim Inyang has confirmed that most of the roads awarded by Udom Emmanuel have been abandoned.
For years now, many patriotic Akwa Ibom people, notably Mr Iniobong John, a well known Youth Leader, have been publishing pictures of these abandoned roads and calling on the governor to redeem his legacy by completing them. I have also written many articles drawing the governor’s attention to the same abandoned projects, and making bold to state that these projects are simply conduit pipes for siphoning our money. The opposition political party in the State, APC, has also in the last five years cried out loud on the issue abandoned projects in the State and asked our people to hold their governor responsible for them.
I feel a huge sense of relief that the man who was responsible for supervising these projects have come out to give his own side of the story.
By stating publicly that the contractors handling these projects had long been paid for the abandoned roads, the former Commissioner is confirming what we had been saying – Akwa Ibom money had been stashed away through phony contracts.
This is the most compelling, frontal and direct accusation ever levelled against a state governor by his ranking cabinet member. Of course, all payments to contractors must be approved by the governor.
I can recall that the governor had in the past made many untenable excuses for the abandonment of these projects. He blamed COVID-19 pandemic, rainfall, the death of a contractor and the elders of Eket whom the governor accused of not performing on their contracts. I have often wondered whether these contracts were awarded without basic mitigating mechanisms like Advance Payment Guarantees from reputable banks. How come the APGs have not been called by the government?
Of course, Ephraim Inyang himself also have questions to answer. Complaints against him are legion. I’m told that he disregarded the professionals in the Ministry and disengaged the real estate firms that were doing valuations for government for payments of compensations. I have also heard that he disregarded engineering designs and colluded with the contractors, just to line their pockets. Today, Ephraim is one of the richest men in Akwa Ibom State. His houses all over the place are talk of town! One day, he will tell us what business he was doing that made him so rich.
Let me say that the former commissioner and the governor should know that no matter whom the next governor or President will be, they will never escape full reckoning in the fullness of time.
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