A former managing director of the defunct Diamond bank Dr Alex Otti, has challenged the Abia State government to recover the N11bn consultancy fees that two consultants are claiming the state must pay them.
In a statement on Tuesday Otti, revealed that two consultants, including one Ziplon Nigeria Limited, with no official engagement letter, had initiated a court action against the state government at the Federal High Court in Abuja, demanding the payment of 50 per cent consultancy fees.
He pointed out that his intervention in the matter was based on the revelations made by a former commissioner for finance under Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, Mr Obinna Oriaku, over the management of the N22bn Paris Club Refund to Abia State by the Federal Government.
Obinna, had told the Economic Financial Crimes Commission that a former governor of the state, Theodore Orji, had handed over two consultants to his predecessor Ikpeazu, to manage with 30 and 20 per cent consultancy fees respectively, “which implied that the so-called consultants were to be paid N11bn (50%) of the N22bn paid to the Ikpeazu-led government.
Otti, wondered why the Ikpeazu led government did not disengage the consultants with such huge fees.
The statement read in part, “That the government should tell Abians the role of the said consultants in the return of funds which the Federal Government was making to states.
“That even in a difficult task of recovery of bad debts through a consultant, the maximum compensation applicable all over the world is between two and five per cent. So, what brought about the rate of 50 per cent?”