Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has made serious allegations against his predecessor, Okezie Ikpeazu, claiming that a forensic audit revealed the diversion of N10 billion allocated for the Abia airport project.

According to Otti, the funds were transferred into 32 different company accounts before being shared, and this transfer occurred in September 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, without the approval of the Abia State House of Assembly.

Otti made these claims during his monthly media chat, “Governor Alex Otti Speaks to Abians,” held at Government House Umuahia.

He stated that the audit, conducted by multinational professional services firm KPMG, revealed that the funds were transferred into various company accounts before being dispersed.

The Governor alleged that the company that received the money was deceived, as its Managing Director claimed to have no experience in building airports and did not apply to construct one.

Otti emphasized that the report is forthcoming and will be made public soon, and that the allegations are “true and incontrovertible.”

He expressed concern that something went wrong with the handling of the airport project funds, and vowed to get to the bottom of the matter.