Senator T.A. Orji’s son-inlaw, Obinna Ararume, Enyinnaya Nwafor the son of Late deputy governor of Abia State Clement Chima Nwafor, his business partner and brother Dike Chimezie Nwafor, Pioneer Director General of the National Directorate of Employment NDE, Chuku Wachuku were among those who are believed to have drained monies that accrued to Abia State under the State’s Excess Crude Account, LeadingReporters exclusive findings can authoritatively reveal.
Abia State is near-synonymous with bad leadership. Across Nigeria, when states with worse leaders are mentioned, Abia State ranks first. This is despite the huge human capital and natural resources the State is blessed with. The state has perennial notoriety of having leaders that lack morality in leadership, sense of creativity and direction as well as fiscal discipline. From Governor Orji Uzor Kalu, to Theodore A. Orji, up to the current Governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, the story has been that of untamed massive looting of the State treasury and mismanagement of resources of the state. Abia State, like Rivers State is an oil producing state. While Rivers State Government has consistently deployed resources from the excess crude for massive developmental product, Abia State on the other hand has been bedeviled with leaders who loot the treasury for personal aggrandizement.
An investigation unveiled exclusively by LeadingReporters revealed that the peak of the financial malady was in 2016. All monies that accrued to the Excess Crude Account No 1014381352 domiciled with Zenith Bank, Government House Umuahia were, upon hitting the State account mopped up by the State Government using allies accounts and companies.
One of the allies company is Basingstoke Investment Limited. The company which is situated at plot 1202 Ademola Adetokunbo crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja has Obinna Ararume and Ekedebe Chinedu as directors. Obinna Ararume, married Nneoma Orji, the daughter of former governor of Abia State and a serving Senator, Theodore Ahamefula Orji. The company received the sum of N130,000,000 on the 5th of January, 2016 without any description of services rendered. The company as well received the sum of N50,000,000 on 19th January, 2016, allegedly on the directives of Senator T.A. Orji to his political godson Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu.
LeadingReporters investigation further revealed that the bulk of Abia State Excess Crude money was transferred to companies linked to Enyinnaya Nwafor, the son of the late Deputy Governor of Abia State who, through his companies received the following sum:
Tunnel End Investment Company Ltd. The company, on 5th January, 2016 received the sum of N200,000,000 (Two Hundred Million Naira) only, from Abia State’s Excess Crude Account. On 13th January, 2016, via same account, Enyannaya Nwafor through his other company Rockwaters Integrated Services Limited received the sum of N176,000,000 (One Hundred and Seventy Six Million Naira) only, while Tunnel End Investment company Limited received the same amount of N176,000,000 (One Hundred and Seventy Six Milion Naira) only on the same 13th January.
In the same vein, Rockwaters Integrated Services Limited, on the 18th of January, 2016 received the sum of N200,000,000, while another N149,000,000 (One Hundred and forty Nine Million Naira) was paid to Tetralock Business Solutions Ltd, a company owned by Enyannaya Nwafor on the 13th of January, 2016. Other suspicious payment into Enyinnaya Nwafor’s account include N100,000,000 (One Hundred Million Naira) paid into Rockwater account on the 21st January, 2016; N100,000,000 (One Hundred Million Naira) only paid on 26th January, 2016 into Rockwater account respectively.
On 27th January, 2016, Rockwater received another suspicious payment from Abia State Excess Crude account to the tune of N250,000,000 (Two Hundred and Fifty Million Naira only) and N25,000,000 (Twenty Five Million Naira) respectively on same date.
On 29th January, Dike Chimezie Nwafor and a co-director of Tunnel End Investment limited, through another company Housegate Global services Limited (codenamed Church HPUSE Global Services Ltd) for the purpose of covering the transaction received the sum of N100,000,000 (One Hundred Million Naira) on the 29th January, 2016 from Abia State Federation Account.
Other transfers from the Excess Crude Oil Account to Enyinnaya Nwafor through his companies accounts include N47,000,000 (Forty Seven Million Naira) paid into Tetra Lock account on the 15th December, 2016; N47,000,000 (Forty Seven Million Naira) paid into Rockwater account on 15th December, 2016 and another N60,000,000 (Sixty Million Naira) only paid into Rockwater account on the 23rd November, 2016 in two tranches of N30,000,000 (Thirty Million Naira each). Rockwater bagged home another suspicious payment of N50,000,000 on the 26th October, 2016.
Other beneficiaries of Governor Ikpazu’s naira rain are Chuku Wachukwu who bagged home the sum of N100,000,000 and N150,000,000 on the 1st of June 2016 and 26th of October, 2016 respectively using Delhope Resources Limited, a company he sits in the board.