Abia Account Freezing, Poly By Ikpeazu To Evade Payment Of Workers’ Outstanding Salaries – Alex Otti Reveals

Abia State Governor-elect, Dr Alex Otti has said that the freezing of Government accounts was a ploy by the out-going Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, to evade payment of workers’ outstanding salaries as well as Government contractors on the excuse that Government accounts are frozen.

This Online News Media also reported that Abuja High Court had on last week ordered that the Abia State Government accounts domiciled in various commercial banks should be breezed pending court hearings.

Reacting to the development, the State Government had in a statement by Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Eze Chikamnayo, accused Otti of being behind the court order.

Otti in response to the allegation in a statement through his Aide, Kazie Uko denied being involved in the court’s order,  but said the accounts freezing saga is a deliberate ploy by Ikpeazu-led government to avoid payments of outstanding civil servants outstanding salaries.

Otti alleged that Government considered the option of accounts freezing as the only way it could avert the “humongous debts said to be running into billions of Naira.”

DON’T MISS: PHOTOS: Just Like ‘Ellu P’, Peter Obi Supporters ‘Obidients’ Trends With ‘Yes Daddy’

“a source who is conversant with goings on within Abia Government’s circle says the accounts freezing saga is a deliberate ploy by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP-led Government in Abia State to avoid payments of outstanding salary arrears of civil servants, salaries for the remainder of two months the administration has to stay in office and debts owed contractors for jobs done.”

” The source revealed that the order coming shortly after Governor Ikpeazu boasted on national television that he would pay all debt accumulated by his administration, was a deliberate plan to push the burden of payment to the incoming administration of Dr. Otti and save itself further shame and resentment by Abia people, who had through the ballot box ended the 24 years of PDP hegemony and bad leadership in the state”, he said.

Otti challenged the State Government to publish the account balance in the affected accounts to justify his claims.

“The accounts in question have little or no credit balances in them, compared to the humongous amount of the state’s indebtedness to its workforce and local contractors. If Ikpeazu and his government are serious and insist that they are not behind this litigation, let them publish the balances of the frozen accounts for Abians and Nigerians to see,” the source challenged.

“What the outgoing PDP Government in Abia is trying to do is to set the people of Abia against the widely-accepted incoming Labour Party (LP) Government to be led by Dr. Otti, who, “I can assure you does not have any hand in the matter”, Uko added.